.

A disused barn catches

fire in the night. Now

the farmer is watching.

The fire is white like a dream

of fire, an approximate dream.

The farmer has an instinct

that fire, all fire, issues from within—

it leaks out. It is a leak.

Little flecks of it break loose,

then they’ve vanished.

More white fire leaks from the barn.

The danceplay of the flames

is an unrepeatable oath.