The Care and Tending of Fire

I grow bold

sometimes

entranced by blue flames.

 

I pile on all

my inhibitions

and watch the blaze.

 

Now my doubts

 

and now my fears.

 

Flicker and flare.

 

Enraptured by the heat

I shed the layers

that separate us.

 

Throw them on the fire

one by one.

 

Desire grows red hot.

Reviews

[BrightEyes]

I like the idea of this figurative perpetual fire, where we can simply toss all our baggage, all our fears , everything that holds us back, that has that potential of separating two souls. while there may be those moments where this occurs , I am not sure we can ever really turn the things we carry from our pasts to ashes. We do have that ability to move past them, to gather our courage and go on despite them, and yes, sometimes we find someone who can share the burden of them, making them not quite so heavy, not quite so scary, leading us into those shining moments when, however briefly, we are able to set them down althogether.

[Collect-Eye]

I was at a reading on sunday and an older lady, she very well read, asked me if I was some kind of technician by trade after hearing my work..
I quipped and said it was probably one of the callings I missed.
But I can see the layering and designing in your work, especially here..it's fluid and the patterns & materials are wisely chosen and placed.

[Antony]

As I looked through the lens of my video camera, I was in complete shock.... as the camera kept rolling, my smile kept growing. I saw you leap off the steps of your front porch, rip the barrette off, that was holding your hair up, throw off your shoes and then you ran towards that big oak tree.........singing, "I am in heat and it is my time to take a chance......to hell with it all"
I said to myself, "damn.....Sweet Emily is finally letting it all hang out"
We all need to tend those fires at times.

Tony

[AG]

this astounds me and reflects exactly the craft that i could not be efficient in - brevity.

every line and every word delivers a mind-gripping blow and revelation of your thoughts.

your ideas and imagery just come alive and devour the interest of the reader.

i also like how you could form art and create stories using simplistic concepts. the whole idea of ypur poem relates with most people i think dealing with profound sadness and this portrait is the exact picture we all imagine ourselves but have no facility to grasp completey.

cheers for capturing such an elusive scene of the soul. well done!

[mick weller]

I feel that the viewpoint detracts for me..
but then disappointment that third person doesn't work.
Yes, to dispose of one's doubts and fears,
ah, how I wish... how I want to be at that fireside

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Lol, a piece on fire by Emily Burns, that struck me as hilariously funny! This was great. I think you reviewed my piece on fire; The Strangest Flower. This was very lovely and quite a different path than my own write. Ridding the doubts, fears and inhibitions that fully let us give ourselves in love, throwing them on the fire till passion burns hot, just terrific. I remember a professor teaching his students to remember the authors of certain poetry pieces by mental pictures and word association. One young chap who was particularly astute missed a question on the exam about a famous poem and ismply put a question mark where his answer should have been. The English professor, somewhat disgruntled by this in his prize student, inquired of him what sort of mental image he recalled in his word association to remember the author of this piece. The student blushingly confessed, " It was of a London police officer encompassed by flames." VERY GOOD, cried the professor, pray then, WHY did you put a question mark by where your answer should have been? The youth answered sheepishly, " Well, sir, you see... I could not decide if it was Bobby Burns or Robert Browning!" lol

[J. Hampton]

Torch the ties that bind us...!!!!!
from desire...dreams and the power to dare!
Implied boiling point...;)

Blesssssss

[just is]

Wow! This is powerful.
I like how this is wrote.
Intense.
Well written in just a few words.

[Doug]

this is a powerful poem that ends with a powerful statement.

"Desire glows red hot."

i really liked this. nice write.

doug

[Kiara]

impressive combined with expressive : ) i loved this! -arabella

[Susanna F]

Honestly, did you reach into my personal mythos and pluck out this symbolism? It resonates with me, and it is perfectly beautiful. Thank you.