Long past time
to put this chill in the past
gather the pyre
ignite the consuming blaze
that restores the life taken
The first crackles of flame yield a tendril of smoke. The fire grows, feasting on the dry kindling and tinder wound through dry wood. It won’t take long.
I hear a sigh, and realize it’s mine. How long I’ve stood vigil, this time. Long enough to witness Elizabeth the Virgin Queen celebrate the Armada’s defeat, and the Bard take London by storm. To see English colonies become American states, then the nation dubbed the world’s last superpower. To hear peasants ballads marry children-of-slaves’ blues, and birth Rock-n-Roll, Rhythm-n-Blues, and Hip-Hop.
Long enough to see centuries of war, with no end in sight. To know that the open heart and mind of mindful men and women alone can usher in the transformation the world so desperately needs. To understand how long until such a Renaissance occurs.
I tire. This vigil is enough. So come, funeral fire! Bear me away, that I may arise anew to resume my vigil.
Only this time, with all the hope and vigor only the young possess.
Consuming fire
the last cries fall silent
as the ambers glow
out of the ashes I rise
secure again in new life
for Colleen’s WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 112, “COLD & SAFE,” #SYNONYMSONLY
dVerse Poets Fire Up that Creativity–dVerse Poetics (guest pubtended by Victoria Slotto)
With Real Toads Tuesday Platform: A cup of Poem (imagined by Pat)
Frank J. Tassone 
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