La Nature du Feu


…per this week’s prompt at Big Tent Poetry, this is a gentle rewrite of a poem of mine
originally published in the 2010 RWP Anthology




 

La Nature du Feu
The Nature of Fire

A Poem Using Three Lines from Norman Dubie’s “Of Politics & Art”

(the borrowed lines are italicized)

•

here
on the farthest point of the peninsula

an office building is burning
ignited by a single match
careless or criminal
not yet known

inconceivable
that such a structure
can be so wholly engulfed
but the fire was too fierce
and the distance too great
for rescue

but what of the fury
in that single first flame
to have leapt so viciously to consume
to ravage
to devastate so absolutely

it is always there
la nature du feu

like the rage of a repressed
and violated being
too long held down
unjustly deprived
confined

all potential denied
where there is great potential

spirit squelched
where there is great spirit

sometimes a whole civilization can be dying
until finally a single incident
the spark
unleashes a righteous inferno
that has no bounds

it is always there
la nature du feu

all around the good people gather
stare in disbelief
how is this possible here
not realizing that such power to combust
to blaze so brilliantly
can only be suppressed for so long

it is always there
la nature du feu

ready to explode
like the fury in the head of that match
and when the smoulder becomes full flame
all will burn
out here on the peninsula
and in here
at the still and protected center

• • •

rob kistner © 2011

…visit Big Tent Poetry

16 thoughts on “La Nature du Feu”

  1. Powerful poem and commentary! I’m especially drawn to the last stanza–“the fury in the head of that match” and “all will burn/ out here on the peninsula/ and in here/ at the still and protected center” Great imagery with a heated message.

  2. A spark that leads to a fire is a great metaphor for all the trouble that has been happening in the middle east.
    Not just the middle east, but all the rebellions that have taken place throughout history.

  3. It reflects the fires in the world today, does it not? I like the best the final lines: “all will burn\out here on\the peninsula\and in here\at the still and protected center”

  4. What a startling image in your photo. And the poem only enlarges it, as it draws attention to the different kinds of fires from all around the world. It all plays well against the black background of your blog.

    1. Hi Tilly. In response to your comment, here is my perspective on the ways in which fire and revolution are the same.

      Fire requires fuel, oxygen, and a hot spark. In revolution the fuel is injustice/repression. The oxygen is the human spirit’s need and desire for survival, justice — for freedom. The hot spark is the final incident(s) of atrocity/brutality that are the tipping point to ignite the insurrection/revolt/uprising. Once ignited the initial burn of a fire and the initial stages of an insurrection are similarly random and chaotic, until they both settle in to sustained intensity.

      As a final point, revolution/insurrection is different from a strategized tactical war in that insurrection generally begins in some turmoil because it is difficult, at the outset, for a repressed people to mount a wholly organized movement. However, if successful, insurrection often ends as a systematic war, but not always. Some revolutions remain random disconnected flash-burns for long periods of time until the repressed are eventually able to get organized, or the repressor is able to finally squelch the uprisings.

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