Sun glowing,
Dim and red,
Through sooty smoke
Stinging eyes with
Ashes of sacred forests
Burned black.

Heat bearing down
Like the breath of a Balrog
Blowing through
The caves of Khazad-dûm.

Despair and dehydration
Drains the strength
Of even the flowers
In the field.

Destruction
Through overexposure
To life-giving forces.

Only in the darkness of night
Is there hope.

8/9/18