master of fire

i have looked into these flames
a million times
watched them dance and swirl
releasing the spirit of the wood
the embers burn down low
waves of orange bending and swirling
in rhythm with my mind
countless bodies have I shed
lives lived and died
on a plain in Africa
snowy Asian mountains
European meadow
by the salty ocean
high on a bluff
and yet the fire remains
and i sit and watch it dance
as i have a million times
contemplating existence
consciousness
and the eternity of the soul

d.s.