The Dance of Sparks

In the fading light, ative flames lick the air, in a ritual of warmth, a dance of sparks that leap and swirl, boundless and free,

reflecting on the faces of those gathered, in a celebration of moments— this is life, youth feels eternal, more potent than fire, burning away the spaces between us.

As the trees watch, quiet witnesses to this heat, a chorus of owls serenade the night, reminding us, we are all of a piece, a shudder of dreams, filling the spaces with longing and release.

• Diane di Prima