Chapter Text
Almost every day there is a new headline on the news about a new forest fire in California
I could flip a coin to figure out whether or not there’s a fire today
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
I have seen flames red hot and angry
On the mountains from my backyard
I stand outside and see the gray snow ashfall
With the black clouds of smoke filling my lungs
I have seen the sky turn red as if the world was ending
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
I have watched my mother hack and cough and wheeze as the smoke and the ash floats in the air
I have had to sit in my home as the fire continues to burn
I have had to sit inside because the air is now rotten
I have had to sit inside and wait wondering if today is the day we need to leave
I have had to sit inside wondering if today is the day the smoke kills my mother
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
There are two parts of the year in California
The warm part takes most of the year
The cool part takes only a sliver
Each year the warm part is longer and warmer
Each year the cool part is shorter and warmer than the last
As I sit here sweating I wonder if I am the only one who notices
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
There’s a drought in California
But it’s been here so long no talks about it
It’s been here so long I don’t know if it’s getting better or worse
Assume the worst
Assume that the next time I turn on the tap it will not work
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
I don’t drink a lot of water
After every time I cry my head throbs and screams
I curse myself every time I come home from school and quickly chug three cups of water
I feel guilty every time I refill my water bottle
Because as long as I have a headache from dehydration there is still water for someone else
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
The ice caps are melting and the sea level is rising
Everyone knows it by now
But we continue to ignore it
There is a country about to be fully submerged in a couple of years
I tell them this and they look at me with apathy or stare at me like I’m crazy
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
There is plastic in the ocean
They collect in piles on the water
In 2050 there will be more plastic than fish
Plastic is filling the stomachs of birds and fish
There is so much plastic in the environment that there is plastic in our bodies
There is a pile the size of Texas and that’s just the biggest one
Heads there’s a fire
Tail’s there isn’t
The Water’s running dry
The world is slowly burning
The land is sinking
The plastic is filling the ocean
The plastic is filling our bodies
The storms are getting worse
Dehydration
Longer summers
Shorter winters
Toxic water
A sinking country going unheard
Their pleas dying on the ears of international television
A pile of plastic the size of Texas
I may not grow old
But the economy is more important
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
Heads there’s a fire
Tails there isn’t
(Flip a coin)
(If heads)
And I guess there’s a fire today
(If tails)
At least there’s no fire today