Smoke

comes after Book Burners

She watched as the book�
The one she could have saved,
Though saved with the price of her
        Own life.
She watched as the book
Wept in the flames:
Pages folding and
Quivering
In an odd cacophony,
Like
The death throes in an opera.

It seemed to her that the smoke that the Book Burners inhaled
Glowed a
Shade of wistful, mourning blue
Like Poe�s Valley of Unrest
And stunk
Of dreams
Transformed to ash.
As the Book Burners
Looked on,
And as the
Smoke of Homer
Smoke of Twain
Smoke of Hughes� exploding dream
Cloaked the once-clear air�
She longed to do nothing more than join in this pagan parade,
To toss her self upon the flames,
To send herself up in ashen gray
Up into the air:
A black beacon of better days.

Author's Note

ive never made a story out of a series of poems before, but I'm finding i really like it. one thing: should i change the tense from past to present?

Reviews

[justink :):)]

wow i realy like the past tense




justintime

[Legion]

Breathe in the words discarded and choke on their meaning lost in smoke.
What a great piece to coincide with the other. Past or present tense works here. Good job. I am appluading the write as well as appalled by the actions of the book burners.

[Dressed in Poetry]

I like it in the past tense, actually. It makes it seem more desperate, because there is nothing she can do now to stop it. This one is very good too. I like the story within poems thing, especially with this.