When writers create a word picture of fire, I have often found a description that tells of the flames "licking" the wood, or a rock, or whatever. When I think of licking, I imagine perhaps a pet's sign of affection or an animal's action to clean itself; or a human, driven by curiousity or craving to taste and find pleasure and comfort in the sensation.
This description does not properly personify fire by any means. The heat is not affectionate; it inflicts pain. The flames do not clean; they create ash and charcoal that stain the skin. A fire does not wonder about a taste or take a timid sample; it consumes without thought and without hesitation. Smoke and fumes do not provide pleasure or comfort; rather, they pollute the air we breathe and burn as an acid to the lungs and eyes. Fire erodes death and decay to be swept away by the wind, takes life in ruthless agony and reduces it to a pile of colorless ash.
People can be like fire. Some can peovide warmth against coldness or help in the preparation of nourishment. So fire under control, just like people, can be beneficial. It's the people or the fire which is out of control that cause all the trouble.
ReplyDeleteBut flames do share their warmth, like a puppy's kiss. :] They can also inspire similar feelings of comfort and warmth. But most of all, fire lavishes its target; and as a person who lavishes another, the result is usually pleasant until you do something unwise.
ReplyDelete