June 05, 2008

Fires at Night


Some of my best nights have been spent at the base of a flame.

Campfires create their own ecosystems, tiny little worlds of being that are particularly well suited to the singing of songs, the telling of stories, and the eating of chocolate smushed between two graham crackers and bonded to a toasted marshmallow.

There's something about sitting right there at the edge of the great unknown, with your infinitesimal spark of light shouting up to a sky full of the echoes of long-ago explosions.

I like the way looking into a fire makes the darkness that much more inky. I love the way black night exposes a sighted person's dependence on light. Nights seem enveloping and without edges, and that endlessn
ess in turn seems to draw me into a more creative place in myself.

"So gimme the light of a campfire, warm and bright, and give me some friends to sing with, I'll be here all night..."

(Thanks to the women of Sunday Scribblings
for their continuing inspiration.)



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh fun! Those ARE fun nights! Smores.... Mmmm! :)

Granny Smith said...

This is so right! It is another facet of night that I love. Stars, firelight, scent of pine, people I love... Who could ask for anything more? I guess I could ask for something Could I have another smore?.

danni said...

i love your expression about nights being without edges - very nice!!!

GreenishLady said...

What marvellous descriptions. I was totally immersed in that "sky full of the echoes of long-ago explosions". Beautiful! Makes me long for a campfire to sit at.

Anonymous said...

Great words came to you here promoting great imagery—fire making darkness that much more inky, nights without edges… And the ecosystems concept is just s’more good stuff!

Anonymous said...

I loved campfires.

nocturnal

Anonymous said...

Mine in a round about way is about campfires as well. I love those nights.

Patois42 said...

Those are truly nights to remember and treasure.

Shelley said...

@texasblu & @granny smith One s'more, coming your way

@danni @greenishlady @missalister thank you for your kind words

@gautami @gypsy princess @patois and all the rest of the lovely visiting scribblers... I probably won't be able to read other folks' entries until later because I need to go to Quaker meeting and then graduation at my school.

Tammie Lee said...

wonderful remembrance of night. shared night fires with all the lovely rituals,,,,, yes.

Anonymous said...

yes, campfires are so wonderful..