Fire isn't Hell

A fire was lit in the mountainside
Embers cackling with malicious intent
The land beneath it trembling
The air sombre, the river silent

They said it will burn them all
Fire is a hungry man
They said I was making hell
Fire is a greedy man

I turned a blind eye to the flames that engulfed the land
I chose to avoid the ashes, the soot, the sand

The wind, the mountain, the river ran frantically around
They were trying to stop time and fire was gaining ground

They knew I wasn't playing
The battle was already lost
The wind then stopped blowing
The mountain turned to rust
The river bled its last
All that remained were fire and dust

They said I was making hell
That fire is a greedy man
But a chill made me home that night
And I have never been the same 

When the embers stopped glowing
When the fire lost its blade
When the war had been won and lost
I rose my head

The dust had turned to snow
The river had turned to ice
The wind never sang anymore
Dead lay the mountainside
Not a wink
Not a smile
Not a frown
Just betrayal in their eyes

The widowed zephyr that blew
Hummed of a meadow long lost
The bleeding river that froze
Still longed for the magpies burnt

They mourned the day I sang the fire into their lands
They mourned the day the fire spared my lungs, my hands

For my soul was long dead, they thought
Why else would I play this game
Why else would I bring home fire to tame

It burnt through the hems of my delicate life
But fire isn't hell; that is a lie

The ashes that lie frozen, the wind that holds the quiet
The mountain that was happy and the silence in his eyes
They know I can feel it; I wish I had burned away
Because hell is the slow parting of love, Hell is slowly freezing ice

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