slip-sliding away…..

Burn bright.
Burn light.
On this chilly winter’s night.

Flames friendly to me,
yet deadly to the trees
whose limbs lie defeated
in the heart of this blaze seated.

Entropy at play,
searing in the tray.
They dart to and fro,
no method in the madness.

Chaos abounds
accompanied by sounds
of a creature alive
on wood does he thrive.

Gradually devouring a fuel
which grew so slowly
out there in the wild,
in days of freedom,
when life was full of joy.

Natural warmth does he give
as the comrades within fall:
one by one,
splitting,
curling,
life unfurling.

Reduced to ash
destined for the trash
when day arrives
and night must hide.

And when the last of them is spent,
burning embers glow still.
Their crinkling whispers
a plea for food.
A silent scream
to breathe new life
before darkness falls,
and all that remains
are memories
and ash…

Warmth relinquished.
Fire extinguished…