January Fires

January fires burn shades of blue

Fickle flames, pops and crackles

Amber embers, stoked and poked

Thick, heavy logs propped up against one another

Each trying to prove it’s stronger than the rest

And while one may be deemed the winner

Holding out the longest

Landing on top

All will eventually fall

And succumb to the ferocity of the flames

Smoldering ash floats high into the air

Its final resting place uncertain

Maybe amongst the pine needles of the oldest tree in the forest

Gently burning out, unnoticed, forgotten

Maybe drifting back to earth

Settling atop thick piles of dry underbrush

That yearn for the smallest of sparks to light the forest floor ablaze

Frigid air offers seductive comfort, a satin robe

Silky smooth when drawn across the skin

Somehow weightless, yet also heavy

Dulling the senses, catching in the throat

But fingers still turn purple, and teeth still chatter

And it’s time to defrost

And it hurts twice as much

Disrobing in the flicker of blue flames

When the heat from January fires

Warms the skin, pumps the blood

Flushes the cheeks, and burns deep

A seducer of the worst kind, frigid air

Short days

Followed by long, dark nights

All the while stars shine brilliantly above

Aquila, Cassiopeia, Libra

Ophiuchus, Pheonix, Pyxis

Beauty the eyes can’t see

While huddled close to January fires

But fires cannot rage on forever

Their fuel is finite, despite the depth of the thick, lush forest

And the long, dark nights will be challenged by beautiful, bright days

And the frigid air will run in fear from warm summer breezes

And the eyes will refocus and see all of the brilliant stars again

Once you are far from January fires

Written with love for M & J