Once Lit

The fire once lit ,

will never die,

stoked for eternity,

Wood, great timbers

stretched to the sky for centuries

I will fell them, all of them

And feed the flame

But all the forests, everywhere

Are not enough

These bare hands

dig out

the earth

and from deep

pull up great heaps of filthy coal

But the flames tendrils,

They are hatchlings

always crying for more

So, I plumb the depths of the sea

reaching down

Through the murk and muck

At her bottom

And draw up the oil

Black and reeking

Food for my fire

And I will ravish the earth

And waste the seas

To keep it burning.