Duplicity

You spread your warmth wherever you go

It’s a delicious thawing of frozen skin in winter

Heating liquids that will revive my body as my hands warm from ceramic mugs

Your glow brings sweet romance in candles and fireplaces

And your tongues of flame are mesmerising to watch

The colours vary so much, with fuel or air as your reflective light luminates nearby trees

And your beauty can be seen in the sky as rockets burst in celebrations

But you have a dark side too

I know all too well from experience

I had burns from sparks and ash on my leg

And memories of blackened paddocks and smoky covered skies

The roar as you surrounded me

Was a very frightening thing

Something I’ll never forget -

Or the relief of being rescued

You left scars on our beautiful country for a long time

Until nature fought back and overtook your black marks against it

But I also hear sirens in the night

Where people flee from burning homes

You sneak out in electrical faults

Or on brush fences as idiots think it’s ‘fun’

Sometimes you consume entire mountains in hot lava, gushing forth

As your anger reaches its peak and you can’t contain it

You change moods faster than the wind

But I’m captivated by you

I can’t get enough as I watch the movements of your flame in a single candle

Or the red hot glare of coals lit up as you almost scald my face

Because I always get too close to bonfires

Fire, you can refine me always

Burn away that which isn’t good and

Leave me clean and restored and fresh

Ready for new growth to overtake old scars