WRITER’S BURDEN

Fire Between the Lines

In celebration of those poets who are not afraid to be vulnerable

Photo copyrighted by the author.

“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.”
— Charles Bukowski

I honor the sensitive poets;
those who are keen and alert.
I humble and bow
before their sacred metaphor.

They know what it’s like to feel
the pointed blade of a callous fool,
to wrap their wounds in gauze
and soothe the bruises and the burns.

Courageous poets create a firestorm
between their lines. They don’t hedge.
They put a match to the reader’s soul
with only a few words.

While some may mock poets
as being meek and obscure,
I marvel at their acute perception,
how clearly they observe the world.

Some poets are not afraid
to feel the slings and arrows
of a harsh and unfair world
or the gentle landing of a butterfly.