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| WILLOW'S MAGPIE No. 64 |
The day the mountain caught fire, I took you out on to the verandah. Holding you tight, I showed you the smouldering flames and you laughed happily. Fire was kind; you had seen fires in the grate which kept you warm and gave you light; you had already seen the first fires lit in the garden, which baked apples and potatoes for you. Fires didn't frighten you then, fire was good, as fire had been for the first ancestors of modern man, who learnt to control it. Traces of fire had been found dating back to the earliest stone age, nearly 800.000 years ago.
You cried and struggled in my arms when I turned my back on the burning mountain, you wanted to watch the flames and the smoke rising into the yellowing skies; from time immemorial man has been fascinated by fire, you, at the beginning of your own life on earth found a deep well of primitive delight within you at the sight of the burning hillside.
The day would come when fire on the mountain would become a noble enemy to be watched closely, to be fought and mastered; when you would join your father and brothers in that dangerous task, when you would risk your life to keep your home and those you loved, safe. Your fascination with fire would never cease, you would learn to live with it, make it your willing servant, but you would also learn not to trust it.
Hello:
ReplyDeleteA most effective piece of writing to accompany the image. And so true, for can fire ever be trusted?
Wonderful insight, Friko!
ReplyDeleteYes, both sides are equally true. Like in almost everything, maybe without exception. You are very powerful with words. Always make me think.
Very good response to the picture. Fire is like so many things -- capable of good and bad.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! When I was small, my grandfather taught me how to light a bonfire. I remembering him emphasising that fire was a good servant, but a bad master.
ReplyDeleteYour story immediately drew me in. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteah excellent snippet friko...always fascinated, but no never trust it...i find fire rather fascinating...
ReplyDeleteThe associations, particularly first associations, we have with something, matter such a great deal, don't they? They are what we must contend with as we become adults, as we "learn not to trust it."
ReplyDeletewow friko - i would've missed the smoke plumes but this piece carries me inside the image even further!! steven
ReplyDeleteexcellent vignette
ReplyDeleteAloha from Hawaii
Comfort Spiral
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Your story is ancient ... true ... enduring. Yes, I find your words to be enduringas this mother's love is for her child.
ReplyDeleteSuch a moving story and so true!! And it fits well with that painting!
ReplyDeleteIt is like a bedtime story told to children by their mothers.
Hugs
SueAnn
As an outdoorsman and survivalist, fire is my friend. As a volunteer firefighter, it is my mortal enemy. As a science geek, a source of endless wonder and fascination. As a hopeless romantic, fire is beautiful and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteFire can kill and destroy, yet it can also warm the heart and mind and body and soul - that makes it one of the most powerful forces in the universe.
Oh, what you can do with words, Friko.
ReplyDeleteFabulous tribute to the heros who watch over all of us!
ReplyDeleteThe powers of Nature are not to be dismissed. Fire is entrancing and dangerous and I commend those who work with it and against it.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful write, Friko. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
ReplyDelete*sigh*
ReplyDeleteVery lovely, Friko!
Your imagination, like fire, is one
ReplyDeleteof the the powerful forces in the
universe. This little vignette is
so very complete, layered with nuance,
like a small novella, a short story
dwarfed to three fecund paragraphs;
some of your best work.
When I live in Hawaii, the Mauna Loa crater, Kiluea erupted. Awesome sight. Filled the blue skies with ash for weeks.
ReplyDeleteSince I was a small child, the sight of a red sky at night has frightened me ... you have written a most impressive Magpie this week.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed the spin on this Magpie! You're amazing, missus!
ReplyDeleteNo, one should never trust fire. Wonderful Magpie, Friko. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant Magpie!
ReplyDelete