Between the vodkas and the bourbons we watch live coverage 
of my sister’s neighborhood going up in flames, filmed 
by a news helicopter. At a dockside bar 500 miles away, 

we wait for the boat that will be the site of a family wedding. 
Nothing to do but watch the fire race through 
eucalyptus trees, skipping some homes, consuming others. 

Fire reaches my sister’s property, drops onto the first building. 
“The hippie shack,” my sister says. “Built from old barn siding. 
Doesn’t stand a chance.” Ablaze in seconds. 

“Look,” my sister points. “It’s jumped to Mom’s old house.” 
And while that is burning, flames follow the fence 
to consume the bunkhouse where her sons live. 

One building stands alone, but the respite is brief. A wall catches. 
We’re silent as my sister’s home is reduced to ashes. 
Only the stone fireplace left standing. 

Her two granddaughters hug one another. 
“The cats,” one of them says. 
I can’t look at anyone. 

Dressed in their finest, my sister and her family 
are safe with us in Southern California. We agree 
not to tell the bride and groom. The boat arrives. 

We board, take our seats, smile throughout 
the ceremony, eat our steaks and join in the toasts. 
There is nothing left to do but dance. 

Patricia L. Scruggs

is the author of one poetry collection, Forget the Moon. Her work has been nominated recently for a Pushcart Prize, and has appeared in Burningword Literary Journal, Crab Creek Review, Cultural Weekly [now Cultural Daily], Inlandia, MacQueen’s Quinterly, ONTHEBUS, Rattle, RipRap, and Spillway, among others; as well as in these anthologies: 13 Los Angeles Poets, So Luminous the Wildflowers, and Beyond the Lyric Moment.

Born in Colorado, Patricia spent ten formative years in Alberta, Canada before taking root in Southern California. She earned her MFA at California State University, Fullerton. Now a retired art teacher, she and her husband of 60+ years are parents of two and grandparents of three.

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Contemporary Stuff in Burningword Literary Journal (July 2023)

⚡ A Dazzle of Zebras Escapes From a Maryland Farm in MacQueen’s Quinterly (Issue 12, March 2022)