CALIFORNIA BURNING

The carpenter hears me coughing,
hands me some sinus medication,
a miracle, I can breathe clearly now.
The house reeks, even outside,
I can still smell the black mold
emanating from the floorboards.
He wears a jumpsuit & twin respirators
like a Mad Max footsoldier.

Outside it's smoky as a BBQ.
My mouth tastes like an ashtray.
The Air Quality Index shifts from good
to dire, with warnings to stay indoors.
I'm stuck outside for the duration.
Can't win for losing.

Sky is bluish, but you can see smofog
whitewashing the corners of the sky.
That orange tongue of hazardous air
licking the sky from the east
is blocked by the Berkeley hills.
Until the air pressure changes.

Smoke rolls in, sky turns leaden, 

as if overcast, and the light shifts 

from a soft golden glow to amber alert.

At least the air in the Bay Area
will revert to normal during the wee hours
so we'll get some relief from the smoke.
Not so, for the rest of CA.

8/9/18