A young child sits quiet, the forest is dark
Possibilities overflow his unbroken heart
I ask him, “Well, after the brush takes the spark, what do you see in the fire?”
I see light within color, and color in light
Trophies I’ll take home, and battles I’ll fight
A bright blue horizon, with no pain in sight
I’ll be there and so will my parents
And you’re invited, too
A life-sentence inmate in orange prisoner clothes
Who’s been told his whole life “That’s just how it goes”
Who came out swinging from poverty row
Sits a bit close to the dangerous glow
What do ya see in the fire?
I see rich people laughin’ with food on their plates
And neighborhood bullies imprinted with hate
Moms and dads screaming at each other, insane
And hard grey redemption a little too late
And I see myself as I might’ve been
I’m handsome and capable and funny
A young woman in college, entranced by the flames
Is pondering silent how perfectly strange
A girl could be called by so many names and not one be the one she was given
What do you see in the fire?
I see myself in the mirror, not pretty enough
And digital images reducing love
My roommate enslaved by expectations above, and then I see the face of my mother
A first year preacher stands on his feet
His love for mankind is true and complete
While the frigid wind blows through the trees
I ask, as he leans away from the heat, “What do you see in the fire?”
I see swirling confusion, question, and loss
And I know all about Christ and the cross
But I cannot explain the holocaust
I stuttered when a young man asked me to
I just couldn’t find the words
A woman of 90, with wisdom in spades
Her mind still as sharp as her kitchen blades
I ask as her memory nonetheless fades, “What do you see in the fire?”
I see the touch of my husband who recently passed
Our hometown before the roads got so fast
And I see it now in an impatient blur
And I see how in love we were
I see the good Lord offering mercy
I see the good Lord offering mercy
I see the good Lord offering mercy
Someone I care for, she sits by my side
I can feel the past and the future collide
She leans in and whispers, “Don’t think, just decide, what do you see in the fire?”
I see the faces of my victims whose hearts I once broke
Calm and alive in the curling smoke
All I can do is sit here and hope they may find a way to forgive me
There’s something unspoken there in your eyes, a pain or a love I don’t recognize
I better ask you now before it dies, “What do you see in the fire?”
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