Forming Flames Poem by Susan Lacovara

How I thought his gift so strange
My brother knowing my fear of flames
Last Christmas came presented me
An unassembled fire pit

It stayed outside in it's box
'Til the rain and snow wore down it's seams
I brushed back the urge to display it
Noting no safe proximately to the trees

I was always the keeper of containment
The watchdog of unattended candles
The hose in hand ready at an instant first responder
Should the dancing fire flee her stage

Still I thought it might be sweet
To warm beside the fire's light
To have it glow on moonless nights
On standby to extinguish

It spent a year without design
Sleeping without soot and ash
Then hauled away to a new locale
My moving to the lake house

It mocked me from the storage shed
Why did it pose a threat
And then I found it's purpose clear
Most unexpectedly

A box tied in satin ribbon
It, too, travelled to the lake
And make no mistake
It was meant for the flames
Long kept letters from a lover long gone
Like an overdue library book
The penalty fees had escalated beyond reason
What once so worthy of saving
Became a heavy box of burden
A stabbing sword of stolen dreams

Perhaps my brother knew my pain
Saw how I struggled to part with the past
Ever the Champion of my wounded soul
His gift took on a new light

I with match in hand, mighty courage
Set to blaze the broken promises
The betrayal of words I so believed
Photographs that showed his disguise

And watched, without flinching
As the cinders rose
Fireflies into the night
The paper trail of tragic love perished
Succumbing to the swallow of a heated heart
That found it time to say goodbye

And the fire I so feared
Became a new friend
A willing accomplice
A means to an end
Near that fire pit there was no pity
Instead a warming to take away the cold