by Edward Michael Supranowicz
afterwards
– in response to the 2019 – 2020 Australian bushfires
afterwards
the silence is deafening
the radiating heat of the inferno
lingering
still ringing
in our ears
it is only when
that heightened drone subsides
that we notice the absence
of the cicadas humming
or the white noise
of small creatures scurrying
across the forest floor
and the wind in the trees whistling
a soundtrack taken for granted
like our breathing
music returns now
slowly, tentatively
intermittently
like the chorus of chirruping crickets
or the fleeting refrain of birds
passing through the stripped forest
then gone again
suddenly an abrupt shouting
of bulldozers and chainsaws
plays out in a ballad of humans returning
to clean up
to clear the slate
to rebuild
to start
again
Living in the heart of Australia, Emma Trenorden writes from Mparntwe, otherwise known as Alice Springs. Living and creating on Arrernte land, her poems and songs take seed from the red dirt and big open skies of the Australian desert. She has had poems published in Campfire Satellites: an inland anthology (NewSouthBooks). Recently she has been sharing her songwriting inspiration in a blog at www.storiesfromtheheart.com https://www.instagram.com/emmatrenorden/https://twitter.com/EmmaTrenorden
Edward Michael Supranowicz is the grandson of Irish and Russian/Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up on a small farm in Appalachia. He has a grad background in painting and printmaking. Some of his artwork has recently or will soon appear in Fish Food, Streetlight, Another Chicago Magazine, The Door Is A Jar, The Phoenix, and The Harvard Advocate. Edward is also a published poet who has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize multiple times.