Insomnia About Alberta

I can't even imagine the nightmare happening in Canada right now. Watching the news last night made me so upset I began smelling smoke and started to cough, way down here in California. No, I wasn't actually hallucinating but I'll admit to being sensitive. One reporter called it ' literally hell on earth' and since I figured he might not know what hell is really like, his account was the only one sounding hopeful. This morning, I wrote this poem and while I also know that my loss of sleep means nothing to the poor souls who are losing everything right now, I hope they know we have them in our hearts. And for those who want to donate here's a link. All Red Cross Donations are being matched by the government of Canada. 

Insomnia in California about Alberta
The heat rose--started in my toes--wrapped around my collar--suffocating my nose. And distant tearscan’t appreciate real fearsbut my coughing wouldn’t stop. I grabbed a bucket and mopmy personal menacean emotional apprentice.I had to work it out.and now  I’m writing about...flames that look like Hell.Cinders that smell,ash from fifty feet landing on dry peat,homes and carschurches and bars.People—masses of them-- drive somewhere--anywhere but there.Away from home--a melancholy poem.Shelter they seek--the young and the weak.Their agony and lossin my head while I floss.We crawl under cover. Two guilty loverssafe behind the newstill our coffee brews....And my mind stirs as the smoke swirls--destruction spraying--
while I’m praying.








Has this happened to you too? Have factual television newscasts made you lose sleep?