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My Fire

An Ekphrastic Sonnet

By D. J. ReddallPublished 3 months ago 1 min read
Top Story - May 2024
Van Gogh, "Peasant Burning Weeds," 1883

Too many are owned by their possessions

Almost nothing belongs to me alone

To my master, I pose no glib questions

My will belongs to him; I never groan

Toil is my lot, labor my vocation

Sweat is the only equity I own

The poor form a vast and quiet nation

Our priest is interest; our god, a loan

But here, in this dry, gently waving field

I mutter a eulogy for dead weeds

When they are gathered, it will be revealed:

My power to give each one what it needs

My fire grants liberty from decay

Flames are my subjects: they my will obey

Ekphrastic

About the Creator

D. J. Reddall

I write because my time is limited and my imagination is not.

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Reader insights

Outstanding

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Top insights

  1. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

  2. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  3. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  1. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

  2. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

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Comments (20)

  • Rachel Sabout a month ago

    Fantastic! Your driving toward Emily Dickinson's title!!

  • Nice! Well deserved TS!

  • Andrea Corwin 3 months ago

    Congrats on TS! Very evocative piece and deeply insightful. Toil is your lot and you free the weeds with flame - which in, effect releases them and seeds to grow anew and perhaps not be weeds. Reality and symbolically.

  • Kalina Bethany3 months ago

    This piece was tragically great - cheers D J!

  • Christy Munson3 months ago

    Poignant piece brilliantly laid bare. So pleased I've read it. Congratulations on Top Story!

  • Gloria Penelope3 months ago

    congratulations on top story!

  • Anna 3 months ago

    Back to say congrats on your well deserved Top Story!🥳🥳🥳

  • Esala Gunathilake3 months ago

    Congratulations on your top story.

  • Andrea Corwin 3 months ago

    Congratulations again! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

  • Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊

  • BrettNotGreg3 months ago

    Incredible! Very well-written!

  • Margaret Brennan3 months ago

    Amazing. love it.

  • Paul Stewart3 months ago

    Oh, while I've been away for Vocal for a couple of weeks...I've missed your writing...you know how to really dig deep...you get...people...it's just incredible. Love it and that image is an emotion punch backdrop. Well done and congrats on a fine Top Story, sir!

  • This was so deep and hit me so hard. Loved it so much!

  • Rachel Deeming3 months ago

    Story weaving with your sonnet. A little delve into a peasant's world. Deftly done, of course.

  • Anna 3 months ago

    Wow, amazing sonnet "Too many are owned by their possessions" This line really fits to our world nowadays. Great job!

  • Excellent! Great line: ‘ Too many are owned by their possessions Almost nothing belongs to me alone.’ Someone once said ‘Our possessions, possess us.” I often think about that, when we accumulate more stuff & then have to maintain it.

  • Alex H Mittelman 3 months ago

    Amazing poem! Very great!

  • Mark Gagnon3 months ago

    Yes, I know it's a poem, but this one speaks volumes. Impressive!

  • Gerard DiLeo3 months ago

    Honored to be the first to comment and like. A beautiful revisit of the art. Well done. Fire purifies from us at our worst--decayed. "Our priest is interest; our god, a loan"--a great line.

D. J. ReddallWritten by D. J. Reddall

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