a knowledge of the red

and he will come to me now
already I anticipate it
to tell me what he knows of red coals

as though I am an ignorant
who has never taken time
never looked inside my mind

I have watched the glow
when the fire becomes dimmed
I have seen the red and black
and gazed into embers
that grow brighter then retract
like a tide

the flow of colour motion
is a sun-heart kaleidoscope
and I have lost myself
and been found
been drawn into the gold
and burned there
alive

here he comes with his stories
of the shifting shape of coal-fire red
but I tell you
I have been there
and I know

---

© Frank Prem, 2010