“Black Grass” by Rachel Babylon

Before the fall, in mid-September

I passed by the fire house and remembered the black ring of grass.

It was that patch of dead grass

Where the too hot kettle had sat

And had burned its mark into the ground beneath it.

 

We’d stood by the fire house,

Watching the kettle heat up,

Smelt the sweet fragrance of corn;

And felt the crisp autumn air around us

Which swirled the smells I can no longer stand.

 

The next few months I avoided that road.

I’d take alternative routes;

Longer trips down other streets

Just to avoid seeing the burnt circle

Amidst the healthy lawn.

 

The sight of that black grass

Brought back painful memories.

Those thoughts scorched my heart

Just as the kettle charred the grass beneath it;

Withering the innocent strands into nothing.

 

Although years have gone by,

I still hate the scent of cooking corn.

But I cannot loathe the road where singed grass once was.

The patch has healed;

It blends within the Just as the kettle charred the grass beneath it;

Withering the innocent strands into nothing.

 

Although years have gone by,

I still hate the scent of cooking corn.

But I cannot loathe the road where singed grass once was.

The patch has healed;

It blends within the other blades, other blades.