On Fire

Throw another log into the furnace

Pump the bellows, let the heat keep rising

For, whether on purpose or by chance

It seems I am committed

Open to alloys

Open to alchemy

Whatever will meld

Whatever may emerge

That which will grow stronger

as it melts and flows together

That which will arise transformed

to something unimagined

Though the steams arise and cloud my sight

Creative sparks in circling outward flight

Will forge a more expansive view

Herald the birth of something new

While anything that’s burning off

consigned to ash, will float away

without my even noticing:

The fire is where I am today.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 3, 2011