As fire spread
across the break
and down the face
of the next hill

he rose silhouetted
against the blaze
and turned to say
he would be back

before the wind
after the calm

He gathered up his gear and
clambered down the ridge
to clear the valley wall
as far as he would dare

as embers rained like fireflies
inside the flakes of falling snow

And when the storm erupted
swirling all around him
he turned again
this time to say
he would be there

after the wind
before the calm