Ash Phenomenon

 

 

 

The ash is still falling

Though no longer from the sky,

It’s falling from treetops and roofs

And causing many a sigh.

 

“I just cleaned this place,

Swept down and swift down

And now I’m walking back through

I still feel the ash abound.

 

I’m feeling it in my nostrils

It’s irritating my palate,

I am coming to one conclusion-

This ash has to be fate.”

 

It gets in between your toes

And in between your fingers

And though the house is closed

Inside it still lingers.

 

It sneaks in the tiniest crevice

And fills the smallest hole

And where you least expect it

It begins to form like mold.

 

It is as light as air

And you actually breathe it in,

And by its persistence it says,

There’s no way you can win.

 

It does not discriminate

That is one sure consolation,

Black and white, rich and poor;

All experience frustration.

 

 

In the heights or terraces

The gardens or the farms,

On the blocks or in the villages

This is causing alarm.

 

Some things it coats in black

Other objects it covers in grey,

The roads are coated in white

As this ash holds full sway.

 

Not to mention the dust clouds

Whenever a vehicle passes by,

It’s as though the clouds are on earth

Having vacated the sky.

 

When will it go away?

This question is on every lip,

Whether COVID-19 or the ash

It’s sometimes hard to pick.

 

COVID has become COVASH,

What a relentless duo!

However, what we see is all we get

And a future we don’t know.

 

 

This ash is a phenomenon

Just like that of COVID

And all we can do, my friend,

Is to count our blessings and live.

 

Stewart Russell © April 28, 2021