Burnt Cinderella

I reluctantly walk your ring of fire,
heart singed mind burned and scarred.
Across the coals I walk alone.

A furnace blast of reality
bakes me alive again and again
as my resolve melts against the assault.

Fire purifies the dead but
it destroys the living.
I'm the burnt Cinderella

standing in a world of ash
filled with spirits and bodies,
their essence trapped in my soul.

The weight of them keeps me here
until the wind reclaims them and
when I feel a lightness of being I run.

I stumble into a forest filled with new growth,
cleansed too by fire of its undergrowth,
we sit and wait together for the first sanctifying rain.

Then the first drop arrives, the ring of fire sizzles and spits,
and just before it dies its embers glow preternaturally
and in that moment nothing ever looked so beautiful.

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

agree ..fantastic title ... gripped me instantly .. wonderfully descriptive and emotive piece ... one certainly gets the sense this comes from your own experience ... such heart break and grief takes its own time no matter what we do ..hence the ring that traps us ... a ring of mutual friends, a ring of this and that little somethings scattered all about the home ... a stupid place like the grocery where we break down in weeping .. a stupid commercial on TV, a dumb story of innocent victims overcoming .. we break down ...hoping no one sees .. and we're sure we are going crazy ... dear Icey ..your poem puts me back there ... after so many years it can not un-heal me ..so its a good thing .. so glad the ending goes the way you write it ... because it does get beautiful ... and waaaaaaaaaay better
E.

[icelandicblue]

Oh Einstein you understand every nuance in this piece and yes, I break down and cry over a myriad of unrelated things. A puppy found in a mudslide, the death of two firemen, the first time a young girl walks after the Boston Bombing, the rescue of a horse from a pool, the death of a character in a book, an old song of my youth, I am a muddle of puddles. I wait for the beauty, that break in the clouds to heal the broken me that writes with this plaintive pen, and until then I weep, some days more than others. Thank you.

[Mindolluin]

"standing in a world of ash
filled with spirits and bodies,
their essence trapped in my soul."
Amazing. Just amazing. I love the title and the poem, very beautiful text and you use words so well.
A-m-a-z-i-n-g.

[icelandicblue]

Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I am pleased you liked the poem.

[Baby Ricochet]

"Burnt Cinderella" Fantastic title. Some really excellent imagery here. Outstanding poem Blue.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks BR. I am happy that you liked it.

[MAC]

Trying to wrap my thoughts around this, the image and idea of being a burnt Cinderella. What an incredible imagination you have brilliantly displayed.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks so much for the kind comment.

[Frieda P]

I really like your revamped version here Anne, weighty piece. Not easy to be saddled in this place unless you're served tea & sympathy with practical measures to adapt. Last two stanzas are killer good...going in my favorites. Great title too...

[icelandicblue]

Thanks Frieda I appreciate that.

[Frieda P]

Thank you Anne for sharing your stellar pen, always a pleasure.

[zainul]

Splendid work.I was captivated by your wonderful imagination.
Thanks for sharing.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks so much for reading zainul.

[zainul]

You are most welcome,dear poet.:)

[Kasey Miriam]

Beautiful intriging piece. I love it. Very well written. Thank you for sharing.

[icelandicblue]

Thank you for your comment.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

love the last line and can't help but wonder about her shoes?

fire destroys but fire sustains...sort of like poetry...

nice play on the cinderella theme...and the burnt cinders.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks jacob. I appreciate it.

[icelandicblue]

I've thought about the shoes and I think she is barefoot running over the coals. She was Cinderella long before she was ever a princess. ; )

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

I have to say I am intrigued by this poem, I personally see this as a coming of age piece, learning that childhood fantasies and fairy tales are not true but the imperfect world is still beautiful because of its flaws.

[icelandicblue]

Thank you for those wonderful thoughts R and R Cowboy. I love your perceptions of the poem. Thank you again.

[The Rock And Roll Cowboy(REBEL WITH A CAUSE)]

Tis my pleasure :))))