Poem O' Th' Dizzle, Re: FIRE, Which Is Generally An Entertaining Topick

by Mark Strand

Fire

Sometimes there would be a fire and I would walk into it
and come out unharmed and continue on my way,
and for me it was just another thing to have done.
As for putting out the fire, I left that to others
who would rush into the billowing smoke with brooms
and blankets to smother the flames.When they were through
they would huddle together to talk of what they had seen—
how lucky they were to have witnessed the lusters of heat,
the hushing effect of ashes, but even more to have known the
fragrance
of burning paper, the sound of words breathing their last.