Taiga
Lumbering hungrily around the edges
of the campsite, an origami orangutan scritch-scratches
at the curly shards of communication
that feed the flames
that warm the night
that harbors the lies
that feed the fiend
that emerged from the cuts
in the poison pulp that we milled.
Paper tigers are harmless:
• PAY-puhr TIY-guhr •
a person or thing
that appears threatening, but is ineffectual
&
Origami orangutans are
easy to construct!
Fascinating to behold!
Difficult to dismiss.
There’s a reason, I think, why
we can’t shove it into the flames.
Something about burnt flesh
and toxic fumes
and overfed fires run out of control
in a dried-up forest
almost as hungry as the beast.
There’s a reason why we can’t
drown it in the rising waves
at the water’s edge.
Something to do with power.
Something to do with sunburn.
Something to do with the float
that lets us pretend
our bills are paid
before the check is in the mail.
There’s a reason why we can’t smash it
under the feet of a million marchers.
Something to do with jackboots.
Something to do with furies.
Something to do with the way the wind blows us
back and then forth again, worrying the air.
—Sheri Reda