sara Etgen-Baker Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

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Note: "Medieval hermits were individuals who chose—or felt called—to withdraw from society and live in solitude. Their lives were often guided by deep religious devotion, acts of penance, or mystical experiences. Living in caves, forests, or tiny cells, these hermits became figures of both reverence and mystery...They were often seen as mysterious figures who had renounced the world and its material pleasures in order to focus on their spiritual journey." (Source: medievalchronicles.com/medieval-people/the-strange-and-mysterious-lives-of-medieval-hermits/)

HERMIT'S FIRE IN THE FROZEN MEDIEVAL FOREST

HERMIT’S FIRE IN THE FROZEN MEDIEVAL FOREST 
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The wind, a teeth-chattering dirge
through skeletal branches,
finds no purchase on the small flame.

He built it low, a secret
whispered to the snow-laden earth,
a defiant ember in the kingdom of ice.

Years bleed into seasons here,
marked only by the shrinking woodpile,
the lengthening beard, the deepening lines
etched by firelight and solitude.

He remembers faces,
ghosts flickering in the flames,
loves lost, battles fought,
a life traded for this quiet burn.

The forest breathes around him,
a vast, indifferent lung.
He is a mote, a spark,
yet the fire persists,
a stubborn refusal to surrender
to the long, cold night.

And perhaps, he thinks,
as the embers glow,
that is enough.
Just to burn.
Just to be.

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Line Gauthier September 7, 2025 at 8:13 AM Love how you brought this character to life ~ sara Etgen-Baker September 8, 2025 at 6:22 PM awww, thank you! what a neat thing to say :-)