Until We Don't

Ignis igne comburet donec sistere.

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We each have a fire inside

It burns constant and true

It drives us

A force both creative and destructive

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The fire inside asks

“What will I be?”

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The answer is anything

Never nothing

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As the blood flows

And oxygen feeds us

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We speak to that fire

When alone

Converse with it

Walk through it

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As we use tinder

To coax the flames out

Help them grow

Spread

Consume the oxygen

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Give birth to the notions

Create or destroy

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Don’t let anyone smother quench or douse your fire

Don’t let anyone work against it

Welcome those who commune with it

Add to it

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Ignore the safety warnings

When it comes to heat

Passion with direction

Purpose and cause

Is not irresponsible

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And if it is

If it really is

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Sometimes you need

To be irresponsible

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Not with hearts

Or minds

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But on Mondays

And Tuesdays

Through to

Saturdays and Sundays

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Lifelong the commitment

To standing for something

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We all have the choice

Until we don’t

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At times our fire

It struggles

To stay alight

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Remember the triangle

A balance of three

Heat

Fuel

Oxygen

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We can’t stop

The inevitable

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Check local laws and restrictions

Choose a safe location

Always have a supply of water and a shovel

Avoid accelerant

Never leave unattended

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Tinder the fine and easily ignitable

Kindling the sticks and branches

Firewood to sustain the fire

Ignition primed and ready

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Draw a circle to form the base

Line it with rocks

Give structure

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With a ball of tinder

At its centre

With kindling leaning around it

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Light the tinder

Once a spark bites and eats

Blow to spread

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And once flames take hold

Lean the firewood around it

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Until they

Burn out

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As we are entombed

Or laid to rest on the funeral pyre