What Man Hath Wrought

"When you ask what man hath wrought

Don't rest your gaze on me."  

"Who Will Comfort Me" by Connie Dover

http://www.conniedover.com/ifever08.mp3

We went on vacation two weeks ago, to Silver City, New Mexico. Silver City is at the edge of the Gila National Forest, site of one of this summer's destructive wildfires, determined to be human-caused. The Miller Fire, which broke out in March, burned 88,000+ acres of forest. It was started by an unattended campfire, which the camper(s) made no attempt to put out. Part of the trail to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, one of the goals of our vacation, were still closed as a result nearly four months later, and we got an up-close look at the result. The smell of burned trees followed us all the way up and back, and the haunting lines from Connie Dover's song quoted above cycled through my mind throughout the visit.

When we reached the dwellings themselves, built nearly 700 years ago by the Mogollon people with only crude hand tools, the ranger explained that the ceilings inside the caves are blackened because some 200 years ago, someone burned them out, destroying most of the wooden supports and ceilings.

There was a theme to this excursion for me, and it had nothing to do with the amazing craftsmen who created these apartments.

The friendly rangers in the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor's Center encouraged me to try out their Native American flutes, in spite of my protest that I already had one. Of course, it's not the same quality, nor the same range, so I gave a couple of theirs a try. The walnut one whispered that it wanted to go home with me. I said I shouldn't. The friendly rangers offered to mail me one later, although they'd rather I took it home now. I returned the flute and headed for the trail to the Cliff Dwellings. As previously mentioned, Connie Dover's song followed me just as the smell of burned forest did. When we returned to the Visitor's Center, I tried the walnut flute again, and sure enough, it plays "Who Will Comfort Me" in a properly haunting voice. Needless to say, it came home with me. However, it still carries traces of the odor of burning forest ....