By Peter Ponzio
Man on Fire
Red flames descend from the sky,
Burning into the depths of his eyes,
And crackle as they engulf his hair,
In tongues of fire.
The eyes, the eyes, stare out in
Placid indifference, while all around
Tongues of flame lick at the very air
Combusting in the night.
No stars here; no limned moon;
No serene reflections on the fiery
Pools below; only fire and burning,
And passion sleeping in those lidded eyes.
Saint or madman? Artist or lunatic?
Does it matter to a man on fire?
Can mere words express the desire
That fanned the flames into a conflagration,
And set the canvas alight? Oh, I long
For a flame to consume my desire,
To quench the thirst of my longing,
To plunge headfirst into the flames
That destroy all conscious thought,
All empty lies, all words written on
Cracked parchment. I long for the
Purity of fire, the peace of flames.
If I walked with you in the Garden
If I walked with you in the garden,
Like Adam or Ezekiel, or your friend
Enoch, I would not ask you why.
Instead I'd thank you for the
World you made, for the stars
In the skies, the birds of the
Air, the fish of the sea, and all
The creatures that abound there.
And I'd ask your help to preserve
These things, so that we don't
Destroy in one selfish moment
What took you six days to build.
If I walked with you in the garden,
I'd ask that you make man's
Burden light enough to bear;
That you give us strength to accept
What we must, and courage to do
What must be done. I'd ask that
You give us wisdom, so that we
Could be as merciful to one
Another, as you are to us.
I'd ask that you grant us tolerance
So that we stop the senseless
Bloodshed that masquerades
As belief in you.
If I walked with you in the garden,
I'd show you my heart, and ask
That you repair it, so that
I could always do what you require.
I'd ask for a song to sing so
That men might remember their
True calling, and not the vain
Lusting after things to make
Them forget.
And when at last my time draws near,
I hope that I have done enough with
What I've been given, that I be
Allowed to walk with you in the garden.
About Author
Peter Ponzio, the author of Children of the Night, is a CPA with over 30 years experience in Corporate Finance, holding positions as divergent as Treasurer, VP of Sales Administration, Vice President of IT, and General Manager of an internet start-up company in the late 1990s, and CFO at a subsidiary of a Fortune 100 company.
Mr. Ponzio graduated with a degree in English literature from Loyola University of Chicago, and is currently attending Northwestern University in pursuit of an MA in Literature.
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