Poetry

thirteen ways of looking at fire

by me

1.

Coals glow red

Reflecting on the sweat of the captive’s

Face.

The captive who is very

Lost.

And facing his last

Moment.

2.

We throw handfuls of sawdust on the fire.

Watch them ignite.

Explode.

A cloud like a mushroom in miniature.

And heat washes our faces.

3.

A man, standing. 

Smoke trailing from his burning cigarette.

As a fight rages on inside.

A fight he is too frightened to face.

4.

Standing at the grave

A family

Hurt

Harmed

Torn

By the loss

Of one in the fire.

5.

The girls curl up in their sleeping bags 

Around the dying fire

And as they sleep,

The fire dies

And the silence is comforting.

6.

The fire crushes

The small town

Like a wave

Overcomes the shore

7.

charred ruins 

a young couple 

crying 

over their 

once 

beautiful 

house

8.

An embrace.

From shocked husband 

to teary wife.

From enraged fire 

to unsuspecting wood.

9.

Eating up the forests

Consuming trees as

A murmur spreads

Through a crowd

Of frightened

onlookers

10.

Dread fills her stomach

Smoke lines the sky

There is danger ahead

She is sure

11.

The soldier looks over the valley

He has decimated 

With fire

And he is called 

Conqueror

And the people

Out of fear

Have run

12.

Holding the punk up to the sparkler

Mesmerised by the colours

As it slowly burns towards your innocent fingers

Threatening to spark them alight

13.

It leaps into the air

Casting its orangey fingers about for the right grasp

It lives.