PLACES OF FIRE
I
the day Zellie & me held a matchstick
to her house made of concrete
we just wanted to play with fire
(not our pink-cheeked dolls again),
to roast weenies with B’Devil himself,
see how he lived for ourselves.
to compare his house to other places of fire
like the oven in the gingerbread house,
the coal fire of Haitians in our pine barrens,
the burning bush at Horeb
and most of all that eternal belly flame
licking at the base of my neck.
I swallowed it all as a girl
that everlasting fire of hell
& jumped rope daily like a prayer
feeding the flames
not knowing yet my power
to take what I need from the gods
II
believing in the trinity as we did
Zellie & me invite the three pigs & bears
for her & me; & the oriental kings
for her baby brother & christ’s sake;
& Shadrack Meschack & Abendigo
for everyone’s sake
Cinderella say, No not me girl,
been sweeping ashes all day.
just hate places of fire.
so Zellie & me is just we two girls
at the great fire of our lifetime.
we lock Goldilocks in the dollhouse.
he was ready as always grinning
in period costume, B’Devil that is.
come off real easy like a paper doll
from a top the Red Devil match box
in hooded red overalls with pointed ears
a pitchfork at ease & cloven shoes.
III
when we strike up the matches
sparks & sulfur took us higher
but wasn’t no dance-around-the fire.
flames with fire colours of blue yellow & red
just smoldering black smoke
a small stratus cloud covered our faces.
that day we disappointed B’Devil
who was ready to jump in the ring
& show us his backside motion.
the three brothers was hopping high
to show how they could walk through fire
& the pigs were pleased to be spared a roast.
that xmas following the great ball of fire
we did not light our imaginary fireplace
where I lived in a clapboard house,
prize wood for the devil of a fire.
santa didn’t come down our chimney that night.
I played games of fire & brimstone with my dragon dolls.
