A Native Arizona Fire
by Robert Becker
A fire is burning
a smoke cloud billows
from mesquite wood aflame
its languid odor fills the air.
Arizona air is arid and warm
a pot boils on an open hearth
a hare rotates
on a spit nearby.
On a wood fire grill in Minnesota
so far from that Arizona fire
there’s a reminiscent odor
a thousand miles away.
Saguaro Cactus and Mesquite trees
populate the arid Arizona soil
from which the hare succumbed
its smell and flavor now too taste.
Mother Earth grants her sustenance
in all regions of the earth.
Smell’s and tastes Her bounty,
a Mesquite tree Her simple flavoring.
No matter the spit on which a hare will roast
the smells and taste produced
by mesquite smoke will be
reminiscent of a native Arizona fire.