FIRE

submitted in response to invitation for 100 words on "fire"

 

 

la Gran Sabana, Venezuela

FIRE

 

Packed in like sardines

with our luggage

more than needed

the newbies, jet-lagged and agog

supplies and groceries, enough for weeks

tucked into every crevasse

Seven, altogether, in the Rover

lurching down the highway

at the end of the dry season

from Bólivar, to Guri

across la Gran Sabana

Heavy, hot

And the selva smoldered

where smoke plumes echoed

lightning's ghosts

more substantial even than the general haze

little white crosses

everywhere

clustered like crocuses

but with plastic flowers

where the dead were remembered

And arrived, half a day into a two-hour trip

our tires on

fire

 

 - kmf (aka RedSonya)

Author's Note

-if familiar with the geography, will notice some license taken with the route (but was savana, nonetheless)
-comments, criticism, responses welcomed

Reviews

[Just Kim]

it still reads though, Love the imagery.

[kmf]

Thanks, tabby. It was stunning, hence "agog," ~1.2 people per million acres, I think, and peppered with kopjes dropped like huge abandoned basalt marbles... I had fun writing within the 100 words, too.

[kmf]

layout did not work right, as you may guess