One Last Breath

Grass tickles the air with the softest of fingertips

Trees grow tall and old together, yet their souls remain young

Night stars shimmer in the wash of black paint above

But soon is a harsh awakening from a blissful dream

Down in the undergrowth lies a lily with elegance

Holding petals that dance with grace and care

Though under its mask of beauty is a face of uncertainty

As the place it calls home is in great despair

Fire explodes, engulfing the sky

The flower’s last blink is dark and coated

Coal-covered lips stain the leaves dark and dry

The colour washes away like a receding tide

The land of green was green no more

Dry, parched, baked and burned

Left was only a shrivelled corpse

Where had it all gone?

The flora and fauna took one last breath

Before the embers ate the last of it

Now there was nothing left of this sacred world

Nothing left… But Death