My Favorite Fireplace

Memories that taste like ash

I’ve always liked the sound of thunder --

The way it seemed to crack the sky in half

And bring the world to its knees

While sending me backwards as if the thunder

Was my personal fire and the sky my fireplace

Crackling with memories and a bitter aftertaste

When I was young, it only ever seemed to strike

Across skies of faded blues and sighing yellows

On hazy summer afternoons or on dark, empty nights

Of a uniform pitch-black dotted with stars

Right when everyone was still and anywhere but near me --

Me and my dancing flames in an open fireplace

And then, the law came crashing on my head,

Dragging me to school, where on a hazy summer afternoon

The clouds darkened with the sound of thunder

Only for a bunch of silly girls to be brought to their knees,

Shrieking on the ground as they covered their ears

And lightning flashed through the windows in embarrassment

Boys who had jumped at the the sound of thunder

Scoffed at the cowering girls and laughed a pathetic laugh

That almost had me on my knees with a hollow, lonely shriek:

I missed the thunder that would crack the sky in half

And bring the world to its knees; because all I got

That hazy summer afternoon was a bitter aftertaste and a weak headache

Years later, on a dark, empty night, I found myself barefoot

On my doorstep while everyone was still and fast asleep,

Wondering if I still liked the sound of thunder

My palms gently cupped the raindrops that began to fall

Like shooting stars into a glassy pond along with a couple tears --

I knew the answer even before the lightning struck

Like always, memories stirred inside the wasteland

That is my mind, sending me backwards with

The sound of thunder that cracked the sky in half

And brought the world to its knees

As I stood alone in the storm, charcoal on my tongue,

Rekindling the flames of my favorite fireplace

Reviews

[Marianne Rose]

I love the repeating phrases and especially the images of thunder in all its various manifestations. When the thunder was yours, there was so much power . . . Then the thunder began to take on a more sinister role . . . But I like that it returned to you at the end- I felt a restoration and deepening of power there. A beautiful and intriguing journey with you- I feel like I've lived a whole life reading this. Thank you.

[Monica Chen]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed reading this poem and understand how I associate with thunder :)

[.]

I love the feeling behind this poem. The way thunder is put into different contexts, representing a different feeling, and leading to a different output, but always the same, sole source.. Making nature your own, turning the sky into your fireplace- despite the way you write that it makes you alone, it also almost gives a sense of power, accepting it and turning these things that frighten some people into your own. Lovely work!! :)

[Monica Chen]

Thank you for this kind review :D I've always felt as if nature does make us feel lonely because of how it isolates us - but then empowers us - by making us reflect upon our thoughts and actions.

[.]

absolutely. I think once we get over our initial fears of the things we don't know in our surroundings, we're able to conquer them, and nature is always a profound source of growth in every character development. Pieces that immortalize this process are of my favorite kind! :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

there is something special about standing alone---about not following the norm---about finding our own sky and our own sounds of life ---apart from the crowd.

i understand this on a deep level...having broken from the pack so many years ago..

nicely done...

the repetition works so well in this...

j.

[Monica Chen]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you were able to experience something deeper from this poem.

[H.L. Cerveise]

I love this story poem. Thunder and lightning are such a primal act of nature; most are afraid of it and seek shelter like wisdom tells them they should. However, there are the few, who love to feel the ground shake under their bare feet and dare the lightning to come close so they can possess it and take its power into their very soul. Your writing so shows all that and is simply wonderful. Thank you for sharing this poem.

Well done.

[Monica Chen]

Thank you for your review, H.L Cerveise and for summarizing exactly how I feel when I'm outside in a thunderstorm!

[PaintedBirdy]

hey monica! as always i love your stories :) i feel my interpretation may be way off, so i hope you appreciate what i see this to mean :)

my interpretation of this one is that the narrator sees "thunderstorms" as romantic relationships. like relationships are often described as one thing but it turns out to be another thing. the "fireplace" is how we view how relationships should be, but it's always thunderstorms when we really look at them. so the "fireplace" represents how we look at relationships, in my opinion of reading this, and "thunderstorms" is what they really look like. fireplace is how we're told they look, thunderstorm is how they really look.

i've told you a million times i love your writing. this is just how i interpret this one. thunder is the stuff we're told about relationships, like what we're told they're like, haha, like "expect this...this is how people act...this is what you should do..." haha. so i've seen awesome "fireplaces" but i got into a relationship and then saw thunderstorms. that's how i interpret this. if that makes sense. like "bringing me to my knees" sounds like falling in love, but watching the thunderstorm it doesnt happen. or, like, "i was promised thunderstorms that would bring me to my knees (to fall in love)" but, yeah, that didnt happen. the fireplace didnt promise those sparks. the narrator still wants it though. the narrator wants it "rekindled." thats how i interpret this.

you have repetitious imagery that i may have to think about more, but that's why i love your writing. i can always find deeper meanings in it :)

[PaintedBirdy]

re-reading this, i rambled a lot! does this make sense?

[PaintedBirdy]

i just read this again, and now i think i read way too much into it. i have no idea. i love your writing still.

[Monica Chen]

Oh wow, you have a much deeper interpretation than what I expected readers to have and it all really makes sense - I re-read my piece with your interpretation in mind for fun.

Honestly speaking, I just have this very personal relationship to sounds in general (I'll probably post some poetry/piece later explaining it later). Thanks so much for all of your reviews! :D

[PaintedBirdy]

yeah, i probably projected my own experiences into this story too much! haha. i didnt have thunder or lightning where i grew up either so i immediately interpreted those as symbolic/metaphorical.

and are you always barefoot! hehe

[Monica Chen]

That's actually a pretty good question. I'm actually almost never barefoot - even though I love the feeling of being barefoot - because of a) I have ugly feet b) bugs, bugs, bugs and c) my parents are convinced if I walk around barefoot, I'll get foot fungus

[PaintedBirdy]

noo!! haha! i actually was the "barefoot guy" at college for a year, i never once got foot fungus or anything bad. i had to wash my feet like 47,000 times a day but, from my experience, there's no real risk. i have ugly feet too. #uglyfeetpride i'm sorry for posting this :/

[Monica Chen]

Omg I laughed so hard - #uglyfeetpride should be thing and I'm too lazy to wash my feet to walk barefoot for a year.

[PaintedBirdy]

i dunno monica, i think you could be the "barefoot girl" your freshman year of college. you only get two freshman years, if you're anything like me :/