The car radio was on

Tuned to news

“Portland is on fire. Everywhere!”

The speaker's voice was certain

His inflection unkind

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My car was on the steel bridge

Headed west into the flames

But I saw no flames

Just a Portland grey sky

Harboring rain

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Traffic slowed

I lifted my phone

Camera at the ready

Pointed toward the fires

Which weren’t there

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Then I saw

Billowing above the stoplights

Hovering on the edge of gardens

Interlaced with orange, yellow

Scarlet and green

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Flaming at the Pittock Mansion

Burning in the Japanese Garden

Painting canvases Monet would covet

Framing waterfalls

Littering lawns

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Portland is best

When The Creator sets it on fire!

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Click on any of the photos below to open them in a larger size, or visit Dick's SmugMug site to see more photos...

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