Fall 2022 | Occasus | Issue 12
Fire Startermy father builds cabins in the woodstove
lattices of lichened limbs laid parallel, precise over split log foundations in the hearth he packs bits of paper, scripture thin receipts and magazine clips black text boiling red as he holds a match beneath the offering the blaze dies young the logs, green-scented smoke and spit, sputter he retreats outside in search of harder wood and I rearrange the pile sunder the foundations pitch the smallest boughs skyward and shelter in a thicket of branches, the timid paper held by fragile palisade walls my frantic breath stirring snowstorms of white cinder urging the flames to hurry and burn, so he does not see what I’ve made of his creation |
Karen Korstanje is in her third year of studies at Western University, and is currently pursuing an Honours Specialization in Creative Writing and English Language and Literature. Though she primarily writes short fiction, she's discovered a new appreciation for poetry while at Western.
