Driving home

The sun is an overripe mango
although you only notice that
after you smell the diluted smoke
filtering through the air con
You're tired from the heat
and having evacuated your family
to another house, where you were cramped
together all day with just a handful of toys
and books
You wanted to wait another day
before going home
yet here you are, navigating the winding road
watching locals playing outside
now it's cooled twenty degrees or more
knowing that no locals are playing outside
in some towns
You turn on the radio for an update
as you pull into your street
and learn
that entire communities have been wiped out
that the cool change sent fires in new directions
saving some towns, including yours
and that none of the 210 people
have been reported as dead
yet.