The furnace

Do you remember the story of 

the man who was stuck in a cold river all night?

it was the peak of winter,

the water felt sharp and painful against his skin

under normal circumstances 

he would have lost his life that night

but he didn't

when asked how he survived the next morning

he said, I had a fire to keep me warm

perplexed, his friends asked how?

'there was a single light you see,

far away, in the house on top of the slope

I could see a furnace burning through its window, 

the white curtains blew ferociously 

making the image of the fire glimmer

but it didn't fade

its flames grew stronger and stronger 

It was so far away, yet all it took

was to believe that its warmth could reach me

and it did

All night I stared at the orange hues

shining against the darkness of the night

and some hours before dawn,

the river's iciness vanished away.'

B, you are the light and the fire 

shining and burning bright and warm

on the darkest and the coldest nights

so much that people all around you, have looked up 

from their frozen existence and come back to life

With the ambition to live one more day

I don't know if extraordinary people

know that they are extraordinary

But the ones that loved you

Whether they exist with you now

or far beyond our realms of comprehension

as stars in the sky

They saw this fire in you even on the days

you cried because of a paper cut

they knew you'd gracefully implode one day 

and brighten this whole universe

with your knowledge and your spirit.

In the moments that you were away,

breathing fire in someone else's frozen rivers

they remembered you fondly, their most precious.

With your warmth still close to their heart.