Imminent Risk of Further Destruction of New South Wales Bushland and Forests

 Forests as Space — Villanelle

‘The New South Wales government will allow rural landholders to clear up to 25m of land from their property’s fence line without an environmental approval, a move it says will “empower” property owners to reduce bushfire risk.’

        The Guardian newspaper

These are dilations that happen before eyes are upon a scene,

the edge of forest as obscene to certain land owners as fire

because fire takes space and yet space remains.

But such space is seen as emptiness to fill with production—

in the name of safety a boundary stretches out further and further —

these are dilations that happen before viewing the scene.

And safety is not the space inside a fence line?

And there’s no difference between forests and pasture?

because fire takes space and yet space remains.

The anger over having to conserve koala habitat brings a reaction —

the sop to Cerberus, the land deed rewritings of traditional borders —

because fire takes space and yet space remains.

So many types of burning, so many fuels to the fire, so many reasons

to play Squatter and thrive on ‘tucker bags’, ‘sheep tokens’ and ‘improved pasture’ —

these are dilations that happen before eyes are upon a scene.

Each shifting of fence beyond fence line is a shift of reason —

safety should be inside an existing fence line if safety is a force majeure —

but these are dilations that happen as eyes consume a scene,

because fire takes space and yet space remains.

John Kinsella