Bushfires in Victoria: February 2009
In 2009, members of the Australian Haiku Society were greatly moved by the suffering of those affected by the terrible bushfires in Victoria, Australia. Beverley George, then President of the Society, wrote at the time:
“I feel certain I speak on behalf of everyone who comes to this web-site, when I send our deepest regrets to those who have suffered most in these tragic fires in Victoria: the people who have lost the people they love, their homes, their neighbourhood, their way of life, their landscape and livestock, and their pets.
May each of you, victim or helper, who has witnessed the loss of human and animal life, and of habitat, under merciless and unexpected circumstance, be granted healing in due course.
Special thoughts to those people, rendered powerless, who still wait to hear the fate of loved ones. Our hearts are with you.”
While all Australians struggled for words to convey their dismay at the suffering caused by the devastating bushfires, many poets tried to share their feelings in haiku which were posted on the HaikuOz web site as a tribute to the victims of the bushfires. Those haiku are recorded below:
relief centre
the new bed toy
smells different
Beverley George
out of black silence
the wobble
of a burnt lamb
Dawn Bruce
'bushfire country all the brick chimneys standing'
Janice Bostok
fire-fighter
she wears soot
for makeup
Cynthia Rowe
black void
a stranger's hug
releases the tears
Quendryth Young
town in ashes
a firefighter
wipes his eyes
Lorin Ford
drizzle...
blackened rubble around
the chimney
Nathalie Buckland
fire storm
melted metal where the street
used to be
Kathy Earsman
gnawed white . . .
last season’s dog bones
in the ash pile
Ron Moss
smoke haze …
a koala drinks
from the fireman’s water bottle
Lynette Arden
crackly footsteps
in a blackened field
we all cry together
Greg Piko
after the wildfire...
a row of new green tents
becomes home
Beatrice Yell
blacker than its shadow
a gum tree
sheds ash
Alexander Ask
blackened trunks
in the morning light...
we count the dead
Jo McInerney
water
the word means
everything now
Max Ryan
standing in silence
around the charred remains:
their three chimneys
Scott Mason (USA)
silence
without birdsong
in this wasteland
M L Grace
hugs all round
finding neighbours
alive
Barbara A. Taylor
on burned farmlands
a weeping child clinging to
his koala's fur
Claire Gardien (France)
morning after the fire
the cactus growing
from ashes
Stefan Sencerz
too far and too old
to really help, I just send money,
weep and pray
Marian Morgan
silhouette –
helicopter blades
chop the blood-red sun
Jo Tregellis
tent-city ...
a girl's smile from inside
the fireman's jacket
Leonie Bingham
bushfire report
crackling on the radio –
flames
Judith E P Johnson
newspaper photo
a fireman shares water
with a koala
Angelika Wienert (Germany)
black veil
hides a face
in mourning
Mike Burdett
limp afternoon...
acrid smoke seeps through
the wire screen
Dorothy Keyworth
red sky
the photo of a young girl
smiling from the ashes
Graham Nunn
sprig of red gum tips
in a black coral forest
a raven's low cry
Jacqui Murray
green shoots
on blackened trunks
ashen summer
John Bird
distant fires
famlies search under a blue moon
Martin Cohen
extended family . . .
touched by smoke
half a world away
Catherine J.S. Lee, USA
Bushfire-
people and birds sharing
the same fate
Vasile Moldovan
wake to maggies ...
worlds north of us drown
whilst south they burn
Kevin Sharpe
a splash of yellow
standing
against the storm
Ashley Capes
smoke haze
the city smells
of bush fires
Janet Howie
days later –
still the smell
of burnt things
Matt Hetherington
smoke-blind
only the road's white middle line
as guide
Katherine Gallagher
deep ash
memories laid down for
generations to come
Steve South
Aussie koala
bush rescue by David Tree
fire ravaged earth
Yvonne Pick
dawn drags yellow-grey
blustery winds still hot –
fire-fighters yawn
Thomas Thorpe
if fire is a
crucible, may the change lift
you towards Heaven
Ryk McIntyre, USA
driving home
through country towns
newspaper stands cry
Sarah Muller
day has become night,
flames and smoke unite as one –
wildlife sacrificed.
Ann Jamieson