Jumping Fire
by williamhill (Member) - published: November 28, 2007
Word Count: 140 Word Bytes: 1044 Viewed: 301 times
Category - Poetry
© Copyright by williamhill

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I would have pulled him in.
I would've.
But my friend pulled him away,
far away.
He would've burned.
We both would.

I have been drawn,
drawn upon with lead
and other colours grey,
wadded up and cast toward flame.
I would've pulled him in two.

Some are set to frame,
cold summer night
mis-written upon
mistaken for another.

There is outrage in a fire.
I know. I know.

How can I compare fire to light?
Fire fades, okay?
Light stays and stays.

I still would've, you know?

I could tell you of holes dug
in which no light shines.
What would you say?
Well? What would you say?

There is ash.
White dirty ash and dead embers.
Leavings.
Traces.
Even weightier things than these.

I would have pulled him in.
Or pushed.
Would it have mattered?
But my friend...

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Comments

The following comments are for "Jumping Fire"
by williamhill

Williamhill's "Jumping Fire"
I know everyone else will show up here and go ah, yes..and begin to critique and analyze your poem knowing exactly what you mean, I know Andy will do that for sure, but I am not Andy or one of the others that instantly get it, so, please, enlighten me? What does the use of "flame" and "burned" mean in the context of this poem? Is it metaphor? I am not being facetious and playing around here. If I understood it, I would tell you, or I would keep it to myself, but in this case, I don't get it.

Believe or not, Williamhill (Charlie) though you have not been one of my favorite people in the past, in this present here and now I am very glad to see your new work posted here again. I hope you continue to post more often too;-)

( Posted by: TheRealKarmaTseringLhamo [Member] On: November 29, 2007 )

Fire in the hole!
I see things in this that are probably not there but here goes...Someone is into something they should not be into...a some place where they can get burned... they want to pull somebody else into the fire with them...a friend talks them out of it......I'm a simple person with a simple mind...Kacee

( Posted by: nitz kitty [Member] On: November 29, 2007 )

Fire and Light

Firstly it’s a new angle on “Light and Fire” to me. I assumed fire dies and light fades.

Fire has played such a big part in the advancement of humankind…. I don’t know of any other creature that uses combustion to support life in almost every way shape or form…

On the other hand light is free unless you wish to purchase man made light….. or I suppose light a fire?

Yet the devil is associated with fire… and God light

Probably means we are all little devils down here on Earth.

Strange the way we all like people to think along the same track as ourselves... Now and again I have lead people astray believing I was right, often too late to put matters right.

Eric

( Posted by: Fairplay [Member] On: November 29, 2007 )

fire!
fire, hu? both alluring and destructive, necessary and dangerous in equal measure... like a lot of human passions and desires, I guess... there’s a seductive pull to this, hypnotic almost, but there’s trepidation and fear too, as if wanting to surrender to something but being not quite able, just hanging on by the skin of the teeth… there’s a desire to be consumed and to take everybody else down too… fire is tempting, seductive, but ultimately deceitful… there are religious connotations here, and many more besides… so I probable don’t “get” it either, but the intensity of the poetry made it a powerful read. enjoyed.

( Posted by: AuldMiseryGuts [Member] On: November 30, 2007 )

Fire vs. light
I think fire is as important as light. Don't think we'll ever see someone carrying a flashlight in place of a torch.

I read this several times and had to read Shannon's comments to gleam some insight into it. But Shannon let me down by acknowledging he probably doesn't get it. If he doesn't get it, what hope is there for me? Ah, mercy...

It's well written and flows though. Is it about anger?

Don't think Kacee is simple.

( Posted by: desvelado [Member] On: December 1, 2007 )

Jumping into Fire
Lena,
I hope I am not so predictable that "anyone" can instantly "get" my work. Sometimes I don't always "get" my work. I do a lot of streaming when I write, so sometimes it take me a little time and space before I understand what and why I have written something. Sometimes I think something is good, sometimes I don't, hopefully you don't get to see that work.Once in a while, I know something I write is good and everyone gets to see it. Interpetation is strictly subjective, I guess. I absolutely love folks take on what I write. It is the spice and essence of what poetry is all about. Andy Havens is my friend, but he curries no favor with me anymore than anyone else except to say this, he has a degree in Literature and it is incorporated into his business life.Geez, Andy, how we all wish we could make a living doing what we love. I am jealous.
As for "burned&"flame" They are both used as concrete and metaphor in this work. There are serious clues in this poem as to its meaning. It is layered.Structurally though, I paid serious attention to internal rhyme and sound. I am studying sound and language right now. The question is: What makes us pay attention to certain poems, stories, speeches,etc,etc,etc.?
What makes us remember certain series of words all of our lives? ie. Jack and Jill went down the hill? Back to Andy Havens for a moment. The poetry lesson series his is sharing is a gift to this site. It is worth paying attention to.

Back to your not "getting" it. Give it a shot. I DO want to know what you think and how you interpret it, and what it means to YOU.

Past is past and I leave it there where it belongs. I don't have a lot of time to post or comment these days. Such is farm life. Thanks for commenting:)

Hi Kacee. It is simple, like me. Like you. You are being generic. Think about this work personally. Who is your friend?

charlie

Eric, you are getting warm, too warm for comfort. You have jumped fire before, I wager.

charlie.

Shannon, you are burning up here. Close you are. I like your take on this. You have struggled with the fire too.

Hi desvelado, no it isn't about anger. Shannon and Eric are closer to the meaning of the poem. Think about this work from a purely personal perspective and you will see. Thanks for resding.
charlie.

( Posted by: williamhill [Member] On: December 3, 2007 )

charlie in fire
Well, eh?

My degree in literature is not equivalent to Andy's degree in literature because he went to a school of better renown, but I do have a Baccalaureate "Honours in English and Creative Writing" too. My work involves charting, which in no way resembles anything creative; lucky Andy, that he can use his degree in his business.

I am participating in Andy's poetry lessons here. I replied to some homework he gave but he hasn't corrected my homework yet. I fervently want to improve my writing of poetry. I hope I can do so. I hope Andy's series of lessons for us runs into many chapters!

I am reading this poem as an extended metaphor on the writing of poetry. (God knows there is a barge of poems about writing poetry out there...) The "fire" which warms and molds inspiration into the crafted word can burn first drafts to dead embers but it can also, like the light that "stays and stays", cook the poem into an enduring classic. As for being pulled in, it reads, to me, like the left brain/right brain tug, the create/craft process which often trips over itself before the product arrives. I read the "friend" as a sort of Buddhist inner source, a repositioning towards nirvana. I like especially how the higher Self gets the last word here, literally.

And that, my friend, is what I "get" from this. Like it or not! ;)

Lucie

( Posted by: windchime [Member] On: December 3, 2007 )

Jumping fire
William,
before I read others' words I'll add mine, hope I don't repeat.

I've come back to this a few times, and still something about it kind of bugs me -- not as an annoyance type of bother, but it disturbs my mind I think because I can't place the point of view exactly. It is like a dream in a way, because of the repetitions -- which I usually look at as cheap attempts to evoke emotion. But these work well, very lucid in meaning (at least I think of them like that). Especially the conjunction, "would've" and "you know"..."I know, I know"....I want to place the narrator as a young person, but the darkness (strange how writing about flame and light brings dark images to my mind) the darkness of the "deeper" meaning tells me it is a middle aged person talking about something so distant in the past it only seems like a dream.

It still bothers me, in a good way. This is one that I will never be comfortable with -- kind of like Edgar A. Poe's affect on readers. If I could get comfortable with this poem it would not mezmerize me so...

There, I think I'm done now. Great job

BW

( Posted by: BWOz [Member] On: December 4, 2007 )

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