The fires of hell
have been visited upon
the “City of Angels”…
lives have been lost,
houses have been burned,
places of meaning have been destroyed,
life has been irrevocably changed
for the people of Los Angeles –
and no one can do anything to stop
what is still happening,
nor can anyone turn back the clock
and restore a community to what it was,
nor bring back the beauty that has been lost.

My heart goes out to those who have lost so much
to a force of nature that is notoriously hard to fight…
my thoughts and prayers go out to those mourning
the loss of friends and family members
who did not and could not leave their homes…
my hope is that when those
who were evacuated for their own safety
return to the place they never wanted to leave
will one day be able to recover
from the trauma of the nightmare
that they are having to endure…
my condolences and my deepest sympathy
goes out to those who may have lost everything
that meant the world to them
and that which symbolised their love of life.

As I write this, people from all around the world
watch on as images of the seemingly endless flames
of the devastating fire that continues to burn unabated
are shared with countless others…
as I write this, families who fled to save their lives
are returning to the charred remains of their homes
and are having to face the darkness
of their new reality as tears fill their eyes…
as I write this, I wish that a miracle would come to the rescue of the people of the haven of dreamers
and bring an end to the destruction, the death,
the suffering, and the misery of those who have been scared by what has befallen
one of the most beautiful places in the world
and which has always represented
hopefulness and prosperity…
as I write this, fire fighters, as well as ordinary citizens,
work together and attempt to do what they can
to douse the flames and prevent any further damage
to the place they call home
from the inferno that has raged for days on end –
and I hope that one day somewhere
that has for so long been thought of
as a place akin to “Heaven on Earth”
will rise again from the ashes
of how it appears at this moment: Hell.