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Sunday Whirl…blame the first lovely wood fire of the year

I sort of started this whirl in the morning over a nice cup of tea and it went nowhere. But then got on with my day of errands and running around and by the time I got back to it, it was late afternoon and Chloe said, “mom, it’d be nice to have a fire tonight.” and then that was that, the whirl became all about the fire.

How does that happen? πŸ˜€ Thank you to Brenda for the manageable words this week.

DSC_0034 copy

habits, create, however, virtue, regard, gap,
cycle, undoing, lessen, choice, gathering, suffering

You regard the virtue inside the cardboard rectangle that fits in so nicely in your hand.
Smooth edges turning between your fingertips, sandpaper rough against the soft parts of your palm, inside holding torches, slides in and out and in and out, its one function: to light your fire

Lessen the load by one wooden stick. That familiar cycle, strike and spark, ignite, flicker, flame, burn.

Smell of sulphur, of smoke, of late nights in a cabin full of candle shine, gathering twigs and pine cones that sizzle and pop.

Of nights in the ashtray of a hotel bar. Of stick after stick, smoke after smoke blending in the hazy grey.

Of habits in pockets, creates excuses for names and numbers, lives in the junk drawer in your house, measures your choice and suffering, lets you know where you’ve been, where you might go again.

A carbon copy waiting inside the chamber holding fire, sliding in and out and in and out, now it appears in your hand to strike, split-second gap, then ignite and burn, sizzle, pop, hiss, choke, sulphur smoke.

Do it again

However, that is your undoing.

Comments: 20

  • November 24, 2013
    reply

    Good one, Veronica.

      • November 24, 2013
        reply

        You’re welcome, my friend.

  • November 24, 2013
    reply

    So the object was to use all the words crossed out? You wove them together so beautifully. πŸ™‚

  • November 24, 2013
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    Wow! And all I thought was that you were writing the best story of a matchbook that I’d ever read. Did not know that there was more to it than that until I read an above comment. I’m doubly impressed now!

  • November 24, 2013
    reply

    I am a sucker for a bonfire, always have been. Love that you wove these words around that experience. I took photos of the last one and then played with them digitally. You can see them here, if you like:
    http://claudetteellinger.wordpress.com/

    Elizabeth
    http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/in-regards-to-this-waiting/

  • November 24, 2013
    reply

    How many years did you take me back? Millennia perhaps where the wonder of controlling fire first gave mankind a means to an end. The power within the flicker of a flame we can stare at it and we see our history. Great piece of writing.

  • November 25, 2013
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    Love textures emotions in this πŸ™‚

  • November 25, 2013
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    love that blaze … we have a non-working fireplace …. not as romantic but a lot less insurance!

  • November 25, 2013
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    Wow! You really lit yourself on fire with this one. I could see myself in this across decades of matches and fires, lost phone numbers in matchbooks, lost connections, and family gatherings. Well done!

  • magicalmysticalteacher

    November 26, 2013
    reply

    We know what our undoing is, and yet we do it anyway! Perverse creatures, aren’t we?

    The Single Pancake

  • November 26, 2013
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    we’ve had a cold few days in texas, too. my fireplace/stove has been getting a lot of use, too. πŸ™‚

  • November 30, 2013
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    Veronica, a beautiful poem on the warm of the fireplace. Very nice.

    Pamela

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