E - Everyone

House Fire

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Quiet flames light the night
hushed tongues of fire
whisper over the wreckage
like rumors

Evening silence broken
a shadowy man dousing
charred walls crackling
with secrets

Screen of soot and smoke
a bunch of hot air ensues
speckled with sparks
of truth

The investigator arrives
to unearth the root of the fire
buried under shards and splinters
and lies

Comments & reviews · 2
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VintageGirl
Review

Hello, VintageGirl here for a quick review!

First of all, amazing poem. I feel like people describe house fires as big, loud disasters with roaring flames, and although fires are still disasters, I like how here everything seems calm, and quiet, and almost inevitable. I also love the end of every stanza, especially the last one. "Buried under shards and splinters/ and lies" is my favorite line. Honestly, this entire poem reminds me of the book "We Were Liars." (And if you haven't read that book, you definitely need to).

All in all, excellent poem, and I'm sorry about the fire.

Keep writing!

Hello!! Wayward here with a quick review (:

This poem is lovely! It's very interesting how, among the physical description of the fires and what all was collapsing, you wove in the secrets, lies, rumors, etc that died with it. Often a house fire is seen as something tragic, the death of something beloved, so this is a new and interesting perspective on a house fire. Your writing style is very beautiful - it's simple, but with meaning in every word. Overall: lovely! I have no critiques.

Keep writing!
Wayward



Generally speaking, a howling wilderness does not howl: it is the imagination of the traveler that does the howling.
— Henry David Thoreau