Melody of the Ashes (Part 1)

A lazy fire burned in the fireplace,
Its embers a disquited, dispassionate, disproportioned hue of orange,
And among the embers and ambers and flickers,
A slow rising heat pervaded the room,
What with its meaty tendrils,
It snaked across the floors and the halls,
Until the sensibility of calm warmth,
Had soaked and seeped, and spored,
Into every facet of the room,

A crystal chandelier hung in the parlor,
High above the fiery hearth,
Where the flames danced a waltz,
Sung by concertos of the wind from the pavalia to the west,
The dim light, creating vague and disjoined images among the curves or coints,
Among the facets and facades,
Among the rivets and ripples,
Creating skirting shadows of varying heights
Taking the form of shapes both real and surreal,

A lone figure, lay on the couch, facing the fire,
Its shape unintelligible,
But covered in large, dark fur covers,
And muffled by the sounds of rustling from the blistering winds outside,

And all the while, the halls and canopies remained silent,
And the Great House was silent,
And the lands about were silent,

As the Winter's Eve, reached its climax…

Meanwhile, among the ashes, a drop of water from a glass,
Fell into a small puddle,
A small lake or sea, hidden within the stones,
When suddenly a tendril of moisture,
Slithered its way towards the Sleeping One,
It was quiet in the sense that it did not disturb,
But enough to cause a sense of unease in the atmosphere,
But it did not,
Nor did it lessen,
But slithered within itself, until it touched the base of the furniture,
And snaked upward until touched the figure on the cheek,
So calm, so gentle,
And yet no buzzing but the softest of linens grazed the nose,
Like a feather…

And as the water seeped into the memories of the Sleeping One,
A drop touched the ashes of dead wood,
And instantaneously the ashes blew to life,
Not at first, but slowly,
And lovingly,
Until the soot had grown into 23 figures,
Each indistinguishable from gender,
And all uniquely beautiful of themselves,

And the tired fire burned lazily as the night wore on…

(End of Part 1.)