Saturday 20 February 2010

Magpie Tales 2 - Obsession

Magpie Tales 2


In 2009 southern Australia experienced a week of fires unprecedented in our recent history. Many lives were lost, whole townships razed, families devestated by tragic loss of partners children, siblings. Months later arson charges are being laid against one of the brave band of volunteer fire-fighters who risk their lives to save others.

Obsession

Mesmerised by
flare, flicker, flame, danger.

Mesmerised since
the first
magic
moment
the devil
danced
captured his soul
took him to
the hill
showed him the
power the
voracious greed.

Obsessed
flames burn inside
his eye
fire lives inside
his head
he
is
fire
licking
lunging
lashing
in oranges and yellows and blood reds

Possessed
of
a primitive power
ignorant
of
a world beyond that moment
the spark
of life
engulfs him.

Passionate
love
burns
its name
into his
heart
no embrace
can satisfy
the craving.

Dead
matches
mark
his passage
to omnipotence.

14 comments:

Brian Miller said...

his is fire, licking, lunging...very nice. really enjoyed this one...

Tess Kincaid said...

Wow. Powerful piece.

"Dead matches mark his passage to omnipotence." Reached out and grabbed me.

Vicki Lane said...

Compelling portrait of an obsession.

The Muse said...

http://adivashammer.com/archives/1124/comment-page-1#comment-8521

your work becomes a union of the art, seamlessly.

steviewren said...

Very intense! It's really interesting to see the various interpretations of the prompt.

Anonymous said...

That is got to be way it is with obsessions. Very powerful. I have even heard of folks addicted to the smell of newly struck matches. Great job.
QMM

Anonymous said...

I remember seeing the reports on th' telly about the fires...so tragic...you've managed to capture both the good and bad in this tho'...nice...

The Muse said...

the fact that prose is not your cup of tea, makes your comments on my magpie post, all the more special...thank you !

spacedlaw said...

It's the dark side to CatLadyLarew's tale!

LadrĂ³n de Basura (a.k.a. Junk Thief) said...

Ah, the smoking match of the arsonist. Here in California we can certain relate to the tragic loss of your recent fires since we have two seasons -- monsoon (about to end, we hope) and fire. Great piece!

Catalyst said...

I, too, liked the last "Dead matches mark his passage to omnipotence." It paints a grim picture.

Vera said...

Liked this poem a lot, and it has sparked my interest as to what actually happened about those fires, so will go have a look on the Internet. Also you asked me a tech question...email me to create a link then I will email you back. Email address is: veracoe@aspectsofself.com

Queen of the Tea Cosies said...

Wow Steve. Beautiful work. And look at that response! All those hearts touched.

Katherine said...

Sensational! Loved this!