fire

The poets say desire is like a flame
Though none alive have truly known the fire
One may be burnt but that is not the same
As flesh begetting bones upon a pyre

And yet I can’t deny the heat that glows
Inside as embers might still cling to life
If wood and breath stoke them it only grows
A sudden fear cuts through me like a knife

I could quench them with water used to drown
And leave the ash to mark the resting place
Safe from devouring blaze that I deep down
Am sure as hell I’d quickly come to face

But I know back to ancient times this harks
And so I sit and contemplate the sparks

Inspired by Sappho 31 and 48 (Diane Rayor’s translation recommended), which associate πῦρ (fire) and καίω (to burn) with πτοέω (to be excited by passion) and καίω (desire). I think it’s cool that this metaphoric tradition continues in English poetry like Fire and Ice. Now we can even rhyme fire / desire, a valuable linguistic innovation.