Steam

Steam

From my cold toes, nearly submerged in a tub of hot water,
tangles of steam arose and twisted like signals from a fire,
like mutterings of apprehension, fear, even hope,
a prayer offered up just in case someone was listening.

My son ran to the tub in panic. "Mommy, your feet are on fire!"

That night, I had a four year old afraid of taking a bath.
Thought his toes might catch on fire. 
I never was that good at physics but I tried to explain. 

I told him it was like water hitting a hot skillet, 
or a light Southern rain on asphault after a boiling afternoon. 

My mother used to tell me, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." 

But steam,  steam is like stepping cold into a crisis for which we have no solution.
It may look like smoke from a distance but nothing is burning but fear.

Perhaps, where there's steam, there's someone who jumped in
despite the fear and their spirits are lighter
for having risen to the challenge.




________________________________________________________________________
Steam


SWPoet


Centered only (above)

Concrete Poetry version (below):


Steam

From
  cold toes
    nearly
      submerged
    in hot water,
  tangles of steam
arose and twisted
  like vines of script.

    They told a story
      of a journey in fear
        when one chose to jump
            into the flame
              anyway
              and found
    she could
      survive the heat.

    Often we fear the burn
      before we see the fire.
        Perhaps, when we begin
            our journey
        from a place of fear,
            steam can look
        an awful lot like
    smoke..

SWPoet







Orig version below:
Is it more important to make a picture or to break the lines where the natural pauses are?
You be the judge.

Steam

From cold toes
on feet nearly
submerged
in a tub
of hot water,
tangles
of steam arose
and twisted
like vines of script.
They told a story
of a journey
in fear
when one jumped
into the flame
anyway
and found
she could
survive
the heat.
I realized then,
that,
from a place
of fear,
steam can look
an awful lot
like
smoke.