Road of Fire

Tina J Gordon

Along the Sciara del Fuoco in the Mediterranean, you can hear the earth
rumble, heave, sigh.
Like a heart that’s broken, it grieves.

Listen in awe as the thunderous rage shifts to quiet weeping.
Unpredictable, constant.
Whether roaring like waves against the shore,
or whispering a steady, discernible thump of a pulse,

the ancient volcano demands attention.

Uncontrolled spectacles appear without warning.
Look away and you miss bursts of smoke, flame, lava, ash;
they fall back to earth shedding their incandescent beauty, dangerous as
a scorned lover. Their tiny explosions erratically foreshadow a spew of
molten rock.

Wait. Watch.
The eruption is inevitable.

Tina J Gordon

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Tina J. Gordon is the author of Hardscrabble Way, a coming of age novel about an affluent teenager who becomes homeless. She has previously published poetry, travel essays, and short stories. She recently completed a new novel about a woman who makes a grisly discovery in a trunk in her grandmother’s attic. Intentions is based on actual events.

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