sitting around fire
autumns coolness ignored
fires warming touch
firepit
filled with ash
needing cleaned out
guess there won't be a fire
tonight
Cradled in a crib
Twine whiskers and spit
A fissure between
every footstep
nails impaled
into wrinkled palms
As I gesture in the
stiffend stance
of “I don’t know”
And ran crucified
like martyred puppets
on invisible string
At a horrifying pace,
shoes sloshing with blood
beneath the lace
bonfire witch sat quietly in the shadows with her medium, Ressing
listening to her work of art crackling. popping and hissing
she could build a bonfire better than most, completely at ease
Had been doing this since the seventies, only needed a breeze
bonfire took off with a swoosh shooting straight in the air
Lightning looking sparks shot up like a gun with a flare
the rest of the witches watched her walk closer to her work of art
She began chanting a hymn that went straight to their heart
Within seconds, the witches were all chanting along
Each feeling a strong sisterhood with the entire throng
Bonfire is magical, it unites women in October, for sure.
Their voices harmonized, their singing totally pure
skipping, twirling, dancing,
whirling twisting turning bonfire
popping, burning, smashing,
leaving ashes, flames going higher
there is a sizzle and a whizzle to the whirling of her dance
she is a spinning, swaying, dipping, whirlwind
her super power is playing and swaying
a quintessential kind of faerie prance
her reds and oranges, splashing up into the forest air
crackling with eagerness, showing that she doth care
into the night she dissipates
forest watching, anticipates
She is showing her anger,
her rage, her honesty lovely and pure
explosive and, dangerous, she is me and I am her.
I soar to great heights but then I fall,
When all’s said and done, I’m the greatest of all.
I can light up the sky on the darkest of nights,
For such a small package, I’m full of delights.
I’m packed in a box, and I give lots of pleasure,
Come and watch me perform, I’m here for your leisure.
I’m the largest in there and shaped like a tube,
Some of my friends are shaped like a cube.
Im made up with powder with a short dangling fuse,
Those that come to see me. I know I’ll amuse.
I’m kept at a safe distance, away from the crowd,
It’s more for your safety, but also I’m loud.
I’m touched by a flame and my fuse is then lit,
I can tell by the crowd,I’ll be a big hit.
All of a sudden, with a fizz and a spark,
Get ready to see me, I light up the dark.
With one last push, I will dart to the sky,
You will barely see me, as I’m climbing that high.
Then a sudden explosion, like a badly wired socket,
You’ll know it’s me, because I am THE ROCKET!
Love is a harpoon
Joy is a spinning umbrella
Grief is an empty suitcase
Hope is steam above tea
Love is a gun
Love is a sledgehammer
Anxiety is a pencil sharpener
Relief is a freshly made bed
Fatigue is a half-buttoned coat
Love is an ice pick
Love is a bonfire
Gratitude is a signed playbill
Resentment is burnt toast
Shock is shattering glass
Love is a ship in a bottle
bonfire was angry tonight
she started out black and red
turned her tirade into streams of hostile orange
finally imploding into herself in the form of hot gray ashes
they looked unassuming, but they were highly explosive
dangerous not innocent
bonfire magic
red firefly lightning bits
mesmerized by night
flaming sparkling hot
bright red-orange turning to gray
bonfire magic
Guy
Fawkes Night
bonfire vibes
feel the magic
nice
^
^ ^
flames ^ ^ ^ blazing
^ ^ ^ ^
on bonfire ^ ^. ^ ^ ^
i g n i t e ~~~ ••• p a s s I o n •••
LIGHT UP THE LANTERNE Poetry Contest/ Nette Onclaud/June 18, 2025
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
flies
near by
dead bonfire
pyrophilous
glow
Flames
shimmer
like old times --
friends' raucous tales
Glow
Light up the lanterne
Sponsor: nette onclaud
June 17, 2025
Burn
to ruin
as ash flies
on wind to you
sigh.
Where Stars Collide and Shine Ablaze
and Passions Stir where Great Fires Rage,
Where Internal Treasures Oscillate
and Glow like Wild Fires with Wild Flames,
and Ignite by the Zenith within
to catch the Zephyr into the Calm Sea Of Bliss,
where Bonfires Blaze there I call Home
and Drift the Abyss, from Within I Roam,
from Within I Sail beyond the Reaches Of Time
beyond the Oceans Of Darkness, Into Rivers Sublime
Into Rivers Of Light that Illumine the Nights
that Illumine the Heart that Illumines the Minds,
I'M A BONFIRE
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.