Atonement
What Moved the Judges
“The tension between nature and the destructive forces of humanity engender an interplay that leads to peace via the human need for redemption.”
In the end, the wind
atones for the wildfire:
carries aloft grass seeds
that break open
to spill into a meadow;
and supports birds
on columns of air
as they arrive to perch
and disperse seed.
Wind will draw storm clouds
to fill riverbeds.
On the mountainsides,
aspens are already sprouting,
shading pine seedlings:
Green leaves of aspen
already counting down the days
until they, too, quaking
in the autumn wind,
burst into gold flame.
Tammy Iralu lives in New Mexico with her husband and daughter. She enjoys backpacking, hiking, and breaking bread with family and friends. Her poetry draws on her love for the light-infused landscapes of New Mexico and the Colorado Plateau. Each year she looks forward to the summer monsoons, the changing colors of autumn, and the year-round beautiful skies. Her poetry is published in the anthology Sanctuary, Cowley Magazine, The Ekphrastic Review, The Other Side, Six Willows Counseling Services Newsletter, and the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs’ website.