Burning Oneself Out

A poem by Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012)

We can look into the stove tonight

as into a mirror, yes,

the serrated log, the yellow-blue gaseous core

the crimson-flittered grey ash, yes.

I know inside my eyelids

and underneath my skin

Time takes hold of us like a draft

upward, drawing at the heats

in the belly, in the brain

You told me of setting your hand

into the print of a long-dead Indian

and for a moment, I knew that hand,

that print, that rock,

the sun producing powerful dreams

A word can do this

or, as tonight, the mirror of the fire

of my mind, burning as if it could go on

burning itself, burning down

feeding on everything

till there is nothing in life

that has not fed that fire

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Poems in English 

• The Match poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• The Mower Against Gardens poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• The Garden poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• The Gallery poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• The First Anniversary Of The Government Under O.C. poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• The Fair Singer poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• The Death of Cromwell poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• The Coronet poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• The Character Of Holland poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• Senec. Traged. Ex Thyeste Chor.2 poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• Ros poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• On The Victory Obtained By Blake Over the Spaniards, In The Bay Of Scanctacruze, In The Island Of teneriff.1657 poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• On Mr. Milton’s Paradise Lost poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• On A Drop Of Dew poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• Mourning poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• Music’s Empire poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• Last Instructions to a Painter poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• In Effigiem Oliveri Cromwell poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• Hortus poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell
• Fleckno, an English Priest at Rome poem – Andrew Marvell poems by Andrew Marvell

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Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

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