Fed the consistency of the indelible fire,
Incinerating any trace of responsibility
With combustive tears
And lips super red,
Enhanced by the blazing glare
Of curling pages,
She dismissed the glowing metaphor
Growing in her eyes
And failed to recognize her reflection
In the design of her scorched thoughts
And the stubborn source of her sweltering emotions
And so she watched it burn
And celebrated her conquest
And dismissed the cause of her initial alarm
Not wanting to extinguish
The inferno
She set by her own negligence
Covering up the crime
Her own heart ignited
So long ago
And so far away
Bringing it back to life from within the ashes
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Reviews of "the Fire of Emotion"
Reviewed by Kate Clifford (Reader)
Reviewed on January 5, 2006
Emotions are tricky and you show this quite well in this write.
I see that you, too, poet par excellence, can do emotionally revealing :) so good here, I read it twice. the thought wrapped up in that last image of the ashes is potent. this speaks to me of the fury and blind rage and mad desire to place blame that can follow a loss or pain often caused by our own carelessness. whamo! Dawn
Could she have been searching for equity behavior? Poetic jealousy is a fiery emotion, is it not? Do think perhaps she burned the book to use as fair argument to try to even the writing score. I say it doesn't have anything to do with incinerating human love, I say it has to do with incinerating her jealousy of him writing a book and she was left out of the pages, jealous right down to the chosen font and exclamation point! Perhaps she is covering up the crime that her heart ignited, bringing incarnation to her own story, quilled so she can aright the situation of fanning the flames of the crime of being a literary arsonist! Will he ever get to read her book, does he even want to see her words in print, or will he pitch it from his brilliant mind into the firepit in his indwelling upon her press release?
Passion ablaze in this write!! And the ending...POW! The emotion she tried so vainly to burn only rises up in the ashes of her discontent.
Powerful, Jude!!
I tend to side with both Nordette's and Felix's take on this Tour De Force of a composition, which may well be one of your greatest ever pens, Robert, in my considered opinion !
The scorned woman's actions or misdeeds in my considered opinion, in symbolically burning the book of her favored "poet"/" lover ", is a fruitless and pointless attempt, by a woman who has gone wrong in life, and blundered down the wrong path in life, and is finding it difficult to square the circle anymore, because of her own foolishness and treachery !
Peter
Some things deserve burning. The last stanza is unclear to me, Jude. Is she bringing her heart back to life or is she reigniting the crime her heart ignited so long ago? I find Felix Perry's take on this intriguing. Admitting my confusion, I do have some ideas about what you're saying. It seems you're telling the tale of a woman who is enraged by the end of an affair and who would like to destroy the vestiges and memories of that affair by burning her lover's book. One implication in the lines is that she does not want to take responsibility for her part in stirring up the passion. She's so angry over the whole thing, she can't see her part or herself in events:
"And failed to recognize her reflection
In the design of her scorched thoughts
And the stubborn source of her sweltering emotions"
Your imagery throughout this is consistent; everything's on fire, her emotions, the past, even her face. And so I'm back to the last stanza again. I can see that in her rage of trying to destroy everything related to the affair she's reigniting her own passions that sparked "the crime" ....I'm confused again. I think the stanza breaks and line groupings are throwing me off. It's probably just me. I could see the end going either way: her heart comes back to life like a phoenix from the ashes or that by using all this energy to vent her rage over the failed relationship, she's in essence keeping the relationship alive. I guess I have trouble believing that the heart of a woman who's so out of touch with herself and emotions that she can't recognize herself in the inferno she created would actually rise from the ashes. I'd be inclined to believe she'd remain trapped in the heat of her own passions unless she recognized herself. But it's your view of some mysterious woman, probably one of your composites again. And my opinion is just that, an opinion. Thank you for the brain workout. :-) ~~Nordette
Rage works to destroy without regard to the fact that in the process, we may be destroying ourselves. The burning of his book I interpret as symbolizing the obliteration of what the protagonist in your poem considered to be the source. In this rendition, you have brought about the very syndrome of 'rage'.
Carmen :-)
Reviewed by J M (Reader)
Reviewed on January 3, 2006
This is so powerful and emotional tapping into her thoughts through your words.
Reviewed by Andy Turner (Reader)
Reviewed on January 3, 2006
She didn't like Moods in Motion then?
Fire and emotion. I'll die for this. But it does sum up excellently how at a certain time of the month affects some.
Very rich metaphors. Regret of her actions..
Mystery within a mystery, why is she destroying someones heart for is not a book the heart of a writer. THis one makes one angry and sad at the same time. good one, Jude.
Sounds like a woman burning her wedding photos or her personal journal. Some stories in life, for some folks, need to be incinerated and started again from the ground up. I used to burn (and still do sometimes) job rejection letters. (Now I just look at them and say "Thank you God for sparing from the wretched who think life is a 9 to 5 experience.) What catharsis is here. Ashes rubbed into the fingertips and stroked on the cheeks. . . is like becoming one with the past, vowing to control the present. . . and warring against any and everything that purposes to keep us from our goals.
This one ignites all sorts of emotions! A dynamic piece Jude, really sears the senses with gripping thoughts to ponder in the finale
...Stunning words in this brilliant poem!
'Bringing it back to life in the ashes' ... a great poem of how we may attempt to cover our ignorance and fail in the trying!
..'She dismissed the glowing metaphor
Growing in her eyes
And failed to recognize her reflection..'
Love it!
Suzie :-)
This collection of poetry addresses the nature of time, reflections on the natural world, the difficulty of loss,
contemporary social issues and gratitude for life.
Contraband Marriage, traveling along the hemline of loving after incarceration, is a love story written in lyric and free form, set in reality with a different ever after.
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Ron
Vividly engaging write, Jude, very well done as always.
Peace,
Carolyn
Sage
Powerful, Jude!!
The scorned woman's actions or misdeeds in my considered opinion, in symbolically burning the book of her favored "poet"/" lover ", is a fruitless and pointless attempt, by a woman who has gone wrong in life, and blundered down the wrong path in life, and is finding it difficult to square the circle anymore, because of her own foolishness and treachery !
Peter
much to ponder here. Great!
Reindeer
love and peace...
Carole
"And failed to recognize her reflection
In the design of her scorched thoughts
And the stubborn source of her sweltering emotions"
Your imagery throughout this is consistent; everything's on fire, her emotions, the past, even her face. And so I'm back to the last stanza again. I can see that in her rage of trying to destroy everything related to the affair she's reigniting her own passions that sparked "the crime" ....I'm confused again. I think the stanza breaks and line groupings are throwing me off. It's probably just me. I could see the end going either way: her heart comes back to life like a phoenix from the ashes or that by using all this energy to vent her rage over the failed relationship, she's in essence keeping the relationship alive. I guess I have trouble believing that the heart of a woman who's so out of touch with herself and emotions that she can't recognize herself in the inferno she created would actually rise from the ashes. I'd be inclined to believe she'd remain trapped in the heat of her own passions unless she recognized herself. But it's your view of some mysterious woman, probably one of your composites again. And my opinion is just that, an opinion. Thank you for the brain workout. :-) ~~Nordette
Carmen :-)
Fire and emotion. I'll die for this. But it does sum up excellently how at a certain time of the month affects some.
Very rich metaphors. Regret of her actions..
Keeping this one!!
Love Tinka
Felix
Imani (Faith)
cynth'ya
blessin's RJ,
cynth'ya
...Stunning words in this brilliant poem!
Eileen
Like a phoenix! And so, like an ascension from the ether, you spin another flawless telling....
Hat's off!
Peace,
B
Allen
..'She dismissed the glowing metaphor
Growing in her eyes
And failed to recognize her reflection..'
Love it!
Suzie :-)