The Last Hearth
a poem
The last hearth sits
In the sea of eternal frost
Amongst the once proud pines
Ever lit
It wards against the darkness
Yet year by year
The space
Between hearth and copse
Expands
Imperceptible
Like a trunk
Inching skyward in spring
As the pines fall to fuel the flame
And year by year
We huddle closer
As the winds tear through the divide
Every winter
More huddle around
Seeking warmth
Beside the flame demanding more fuel
Lest all freeze
Another year
The copse recedes
The winds tear at ever exposed flesh
And those intrepid few
Venturing forth
Never return
There’s never time
To replant
Those trees fell
By our own hand
Does such sum of sin
Ever condemn us
To eternal flagellation
Beside the final flame?
About the Creator
Matthew J. Fromm
Full-time nerd, history enthusiast, and proprietor of arcane knowledge.
Here there be dragons, knights, castles, and quests (plus the occasional dose of absurdity).
I can be reached at [email protected]
Keep reading
More stories from Matthew J. Fromm and writers in Poets and other communities.
Past Lives
War made for odd couples. To Private Jim Mclellan, Sepp seemed a good man; better at least than some of the monsters he heard stories of deeper into the Reich. Real monsters. This Sepp almost reminded Jim of his uncle; the one from Wisconsin he met a few times at Weddings.
By Matthew J. FrommExclusive • 10 months ago
About Binding Prometheus
I want to start actively advocating on behalf of my own work, and the most valuable part of my canon is, without a doubt, Binding Prometheus, the play I have been working on since 2019 and only finished in 2023 as part of my MA. The play itself is an amalgamation of a million different inspirations. On one end, it evokes the Ancient Greek myth-play, deriving its own title from the earliest extant work of Western drama we have, Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound. On the other end, it borrows significantly from the sci-fi bulwarks from over the years, namely Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Karel Capek’s Rossum’s Universal Robots. The play could be an episode of Black Mirror, I fear. I don’t know. I’ve only ever seen one episode of Black Mirror.
By Steven Christopher McKnight7 days ago in Futurism
Comments (15)
Well done pally!
Congrats, buddy!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your honourable mention! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Fackin’ ell mate… self preservation leads to self destruction. I didn’t want to feel gutted so early in my day 🤣 I hesitate to say I hope you’re staying warm up north hahaha
Those poor trees. Beautiful work, Matthew, and congratulations on making the leadership board this week!👏👏👏
You’re the Manafort winner!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Wel.done mai tai lad. Nice sharing leaderboard with you.
Your work carries a quiet, reflective dread, balanced with intimacy around the hearth. It effectively conveys both vulnerability and resilience, drawing the reader into the emotional landscape.
Powerful poem, Matthew, and a great entry into the challenge!
Oooo, this chilled me. Expands imperceptible... So much said in two words that could be applied to so many things. We let go just a little, barely noticing what we've given up until it's too late and we're condemned. Wonderfully written!
Oooo, those last four lines hit so hard! Loved your poem!
Yes, it should. Great poem on our destruction of forests and the results.
Flagellation final flame . . . Lovely alliteration This is beautiful. This is what I did for last flame: https://shopping-feedback.today/poets/sacrificial-fire%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class="css-w4qknv-Replies">
Ooo I love the cyclical feel to this and the question you raise. Very philosophical and moral questioning. Great work my friend.