HAIKU
by Brian Dolan
Photo: Smoke billows upwards from a planned ignition by firefighters who were tackling the Donnie Creek Complex wildfire south of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, on Saturday, June 3. B.C. Wildfire Service
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Brian Dolan is a poet and fiction writer. His writing has appeared or is forthcoming in the Beatnik Cowboy, Plum Tree Tavern, the Bangalore Review, and the Bosphorus Review of Books.
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GRAY HAZE
by Mark Danowsky
Smoke from wildfires in provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada made Philadelphia’s iconic Belmont Plateau skyline nearly invisible on June 7, 2023. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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The classic way to explain asthma Imagine: breathing through a straw Now, picture flipping burgers on a charcoal grill Today, that charcoal grill is the sky Endless red coals burning up in Canada No, Canada is the grill 400+ fires burning Half of them Out of control The smoke has traveled down to The States Today, Pennsylvania sky is an unnatural gray A gray that embodies burnt rubber Now, imagine that straw in your mouth Imagine trying to breathe this burnt rubber air All this gray filling your lungs Cigarette after cigarette with no reward
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Mark Danowsky is Editor-in-Chief of ONE ART: a journal of poetry. He is the author of Meatless (Plan B Press) and other short poetry collections. His poems have been curated in many journals including Alba, The New Verse News, anti-heroin chic, Right Hand Pointing, The Broadkill Review, Otoliths, and Gargoyle.
Wow! I Terrific poem.