My Poem ‘The Fire’

One of the first lessons that my father ever taught me
was how to start a fire;
one of the first gifts that my father ever gave me
was the knowledge of how to keep a flame alive
and burning for as long as it can,
so that its light and warmth will never expire.
My father taught me that a well-fueled fire
will continue to burn long into the night and go on into the next day-
just as long as you treasure it, look after it, don’t take it for granted;
and if it seems to be dying right in front of you
you do everything that you can to make sure that doesn’t happen,
and never walk away.

Fire was the integral discovery of humanity
that took our ancestors out of the caves that they lived in,
and away from the camp-fires that they sat around,
and fueled their dreams that they could start a fire of their own-
one that humanity and the world had never known:
a fire that would spread from heart to heart, and from head to hands,
that would see us all reaching for the stars
and searching for truths that we can all appreciate and understand.
That fire is always there,
you can feel it beating and burning in your chest all the time-
it can make you feel euphoric when you are happy and inspired,
and it keeps you going when you are feeling down or tired.
And that fire within you is your one true gift-
your fire came into being when two fires, the fires of your parents,
became one fire-
the same fire that has been burning for billions of years,
made up of many colours, that will go on for as long as the universe exists.

Every time I see a flame dancing in front of me,
or a fire burning strong and bright,
I feel something inside of me-
my own flame, my own fire-
being stirred and gifting me with insight.
Some people call the fire,
that will continue to burn forever within every living thing,
‘hope’, ‘drive’, or ‘will’;
but I like to think of it as something more powerful,
I like to think of it as the necessary component of all life, everywhere-
and it should be cherished and basked in,
and observed around us and above us in the air.

To be able to feel and to see the fire in as many people I can
around the world is something that I look forward to the most,
and it is what makes me rise everyday a little higher.
There is nothing more amazing to behold
than seeing the lessons of my father right in front of me,
and keeping alive the flames and the sparks of natures fire.

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