The flame burned

The flame burned with an unexpected

intensity; attracted by the light, the heat,

he touched the flame, surprised

that it did not burn or char as it wrapped

itself around him. The flame shaped and

smoothed gently, scouring and refining

less gently, leading a journey through

the wilderness, forty years. He looked

at the land, a promise, a promise the same

as when it began,

as heat, as light,

in the beginning.

Photograph by Lynn Greyling via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.