"You aren’t separate from the natural world."

Blake Nuto reflects on his POEM FOREST poem 'Am I Rebellion?'

When I asked the firefighter where the animals would go during the burn off, he said, ‘They’ll just run off.’

This poem is, firstly, a reflection on fire and human interaction with the understorey.

Fire reveals that the soil was previously used as a dumping ground. Stately, fragile items are discarded, strewn through the earth. As animals flee the flames their paws are cut. Some escape, only leaving their blood trails behind, others are not quick enough. The ants benefit.

After the fire the land is barren. Precious, barely noticed things are gone to memory. And not only did some animals not escape, there is nothing for the others to return to. Even a controlled fire is unforgiving. Not truly controlled. Fire rebels.

My first draft had a different ending. Fire can be regenerative. The earth is regenerative. Months later, native grasses flourished. Years later, the animals returned.

Instead we go further into the human/nature relationship. We see the fire in ourselves. ‘Is that bad? Do I need to tame it?’

A second voice responds. You aren’t separate from the natural world.

There’s space to make your own conclusions.