The Palisades Fire Missed Me - March 13, 2026

Gary Hunter
Mar 13
1 min read

from my living room window, above my lilac’s

purple blooms and between the welcome

spread of a pair of oaks, a snow-capped mountain

like a whipped dessert, is the view I lick,

while below and surrounding me lies

the burned carcasses of homes

with gravestones of chimneys

I live untouched, inside

an ashen oasis of death,

lonely for noise -

two dogs barking at each other

a loud late-night pool party

the squeal of someone else’s brakes

a sneeze that’s not mine

the mockingbird’s mockery

to soon to enjoy

the quiet drift of clouds

the stillness of midnight’s moon

the muted quivering of stars

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