This is the wake of
your leaving.
in mid-flight,
of ash.
waving my surrender in the
sticky summer wind.
Underneath my feet, trampled,
are the delicate leaves of a wild rose.
Still, they search for sun.
In this week’s Earth Matters, Nyack native Evie Toland talks about her poem,
Before the Phoenix Returns. Toland was inspired to write the poem after her house nearly burned down in a wildfire this summer. Read the poem below.
Who are you?
My name is Evie Toland and I currently live in Southwest Colorado. I was born in New York City, but moved to Nyack when I was 8 and spent the rest of my childhood attending the public schools there, spending Sundays at the street fair, and arguing that Nyack kids were way cooler than Valley Cottagians.