Crown of Flames – A Poem by Brian Sonia-Wallace

by Brian Sonia-Wallace January 30, 2025

written by Brian Sonia-Wallace January 30, 2025

an ode to the giant sequoias, who need fire to reproduce

I would 
run but 
I am 
a forest

so I wait 
while long-
tongued flames 
lick lost leaves.

I seal seeds 
in resin 
to melt
with heat 

so after 
I am 
a burnt husk
new pines 

that have lain 
dormant for decades
will sprout
through ash.

*

I would 
run but 
I am 
a planet

so I wait
while ants 
tunnel & monkeys 
build rockets

& fall in love
& everything 
burns but 
not everything

is lost.

Crown of Flames is a previously published piece. It appears in Dear Human (a climate anthology) and has been set to music for choir by my friend & composer Saunder Choi (performance link here) if you wish to engage further.

Brian Sonia-Wallace Our Voice

Brian Sonia-Wallace

Brian Sonia-Wallace has been called a “creative genius“ by the LA Department of Cultural Affairs and “disappointingly normal“ by the New York Times. His major work includes The Poetry of Strangers (essays), two chapbooks of poems, a dozen texts for choral songs, and writing in American Poets, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. Brian is the fourth Poet Laureate of West Hollywood and an Academy of American Poets Fellow, as well as a Writer-in-Residence for Amtrak, Mall of America, Dollar Shave Club, the LA LGBT Center, the City of Los Angeles, and the National Parks. More at rentpoet.com & @rentpoet.

Crown of Flames – A Poem by Brian Sonia-Wallace

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