I have always been drawn to fire. It is a force of destruction and renewal, a symbol of transformation and intensity. My fascination with it began when I was just a child, scribbling my first poem about flames at the age of eight or nine. That early expression of creativity was raw, instinctive, and deeply personal. Now, as I take part in the Carnet 03 Marie Uguay contest, I have chosen to honor that little girl by returning to the same theme—fire. This time, however, it is not just about its power but about what it represents in the depths of human emotion: passion and love.
My poem, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, explores the uncertain nature of love, using fire as a metaphor for its consuming intensity. Love, when real, cannot be controlled or ignored. It flickers, it grows, and at times, it threatens to burn everything in its path. The poem mirrors the age-old game of plucking daisy petals, asking whether love is reciprocated, but instead of a child's innocent question, it delves into something much deeper. Love is not a fleeting thought; it is an all-encompassing force, demanding surrender, trust, and abandon.
There is often a tendency to view intense love as dangerous, something to fear because of the way it takes over. Some might call it attachment, some might mistake it for obsession, but love, when it is true, is something that cannot be easily dismissed. It is not about control but about inevitability. It is about the moment when passion is so overwhelming that resistance becomes impossible—not because it is forced, but because it is undeniable.
In He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, the act of being bound by love is not an imprisonment; it is a willing surrender to something greater than oneself. The desire to hold on, to ensure that love does not slip away, is not rooted in desperation but in certainty. The final lines of the poem speak of leading the beloved to paradise, a place where the truth of that love is undeniable. The fire in the poem is not one that consumes and destroys but one that illuminates and reveals. It is the kind of love that changes everything, that makes one see the world differently, that burns away doubt and hesitation.
Choosing the theme of fire was not just a creative decision but a personal one. Revisiting the imagery that first inspired me as a child has allowed me to reconnect with my earliest sense of wonder and expression. Fire, like love, is something that cannot be ignored. It commands attention. It demands to be felt. And above all, it refuses to be extinguished.
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