FIRE
WEATHER
Sometimes in summer in the
area of the far north coast of NSW if it doesn’t rain for a while
and the heat grows towards the high 30’s (centrigrade) or beyond it
grows dry and the days are almost too bright, the colours feel washed
out by the glare. This is “fire weather” in a more threatening
way also- the dangers of actual forest fires or bush fires as they
are known in Australia. This poem also references the “Fire
Sermon” traditionally ascribed to the Buddha.
The Ādittapariyāya Sutta
(Pali, "Fire Sermon Discourse"), sometimes referred to
simply as the Āditta Sutta, is a discourse from the Pali Canon,
popularly known as the Fire Sermon.In this discourse, the Buddha
preaches about achieving liberation from suffering through detachment
from the five senses and mind.
In this discourse, the
Buddha describes the sense bases and resultant mental phenomena as
"burning" with passion, aversion, delusion and suffering.
Seeing such, a noble disciple becomes disenchanted with,
dispassionate toward and thus liberated from the senses bases,
achieving arahantship. From
Wikipedia
FIRE
WEATHER
Ever-ceaseless
sun is parching
Pasture
grass on browning hills.
Heat
gives topic to tired talk,
Day
is blazing silent haze.
Afterthoughts
of white cloud contrast
With
the brilliancy of blue:
Day's
dome bathing all in thirsting
Radiance
that drinks earth dry.
Here
is heat that holds the landscape
In
a sorcery of glare;
Like
a sulphured dragon breathing
Fire
through the trembling air.
Even
butcher birds and magpies
Hide
in fainting leaves to shelter
In
solicitude of shadow,
Beaks
slight-parted, softly-panting.
Now
time sweats. And even colours
Burn
upon the vision, flame,
Hazed
in day's intensity,
Focused
in a crystal furnace.
Yellowed
grasses wither back
To
dry-fisssured ground which bakes
To
a hot and lifeless dust.
Creeks
and dams sink towards the earth.
Hazed
with heat, eyes glazed with glare,
Restlessly
we scan the rim
Of
our sight for rain's relief,
For
release from fire weather.
For
tranquillity is coolness,
And
detachment from sense flame;
Fire
weather's fire sermon:
All
the world seems burning, burning.
I can feel the heat. Great stuff.
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