Donald Illich: "In The Name of Fire"

Donald Illich has published poetry in LIT, Nimrod, Passages North, and other journals. He lives in Maryland.

In The Name of FIre
​
We burned the mayor's house down
while he was at the banquet to benefit
orphans.  The forest was set aflame
to ruin the fire fighters’ day, to make

birds fly away to unknown nests.
At work we brought our flares,  
transformed the table and chairs
to ashes, letting the smoke cloud

every cubicle.  The only things
we didn’t set ablaze was money
we spent on gasoline and matches.
Our lovers declared they would leave

us if we continued.  We said goodbye
to them in the snow, where they slowly
froze to death, while we held a burning
torch, keeping us warm.  The ice

would surround us, too, but we knew
how to escape.  To melt a path around
us, where life was set to bloom again,
to appear in this world, in our dreams.