Patience builds a fire

I cover myself in a cloak.

Crouching down, head bowed,
my world becomes a cave.
I turn inside and light a fire
in the darkness -

a seed of a flame 
sheltered from the world’s winds
as I close every door
and feed it.

The offer of this inner fire -
the heat of passion 
and the light of clarity. 
But both are spent easily. 

Throw open the doors
and the fire burns bright
and the fire burns out. 
Leaving only ashes. 

But protect the spark and
nurture the first flames,
build it well and feed it well
through rush and crack
to slow burn embers that
hold their own against 
the ice of winter’s night. 

Patience builds a fire. 
Patience and devotion 
and quiet attention.
To be seduced by the first flash
of a fire’s power is to lose it. 
Don’t sit back. Don’t try to use it. 
But remember the power
of a warm hearth that
does not succumb 
to a cold, dark world
but endures and, what’s more,
radiates warmth to all.