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Thursday, December 08, 2016

Cambridge fire, December 2016 by Kirk Etherton

Kirk Etherton







 Kirk Etherton is the interim host of the long-running Stone Soup Poetry Series, which meets every Monday, 7:00 - 8:30 pm, at Out of the Blue Gallery, Central Square, Cambridge. A writer / performer of poems and songs, Kirk also makes unusual sculptures, using odd materials. He is a regular at "Bagel Bards" (Saturday mornings at Au Bon Pain, Davis Square, Somerville), and serves on the board of the Boston National Poetry Month Festival. He often shares a stage with his wife, Berklee professor Lucy Holsted






Cambridge fire, December 2016
Villanelle for a city

How did it start? Who knows? It moved quickly
from one building to the next, and next; quite soon
a massive glow lit up the city.

That's how combustion goes, makes people flee
from smoke-filled homes to wait below the moon.
How did it start? Who knows? It moved quickly.

Firefighters fought; the scene blazed on TV.
Helicopters chopped their hovering tune.
A massive glow lit up the city.

With flames finally extinguished, we could breathe.
But 120-plus were homeless now: what gloom! 
How did it start? Who knows? It moved quickly.

"We're planning a benefit," said The Middle East.
At City Hall, staffers filled all halls and rooms.
A massive glow lit up the city.

I saw a friend, who'd already given money.
Countless others did the same—a growing boon.
A massive glow lit up the city.
How did it start? Who knows? It moved quickly.

                                    — Kirk Etherton, December 5, 2016

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