fire

Fire.

Fire had been with man from the start. Since the first man took burning coals from a lightning struck tree stump, and had built a fire, since that time an eternity ago, fire had been with man.

Man danced and feasted on the spoils of the hunt, around the fire, for countless ages. He feasted and entertained around the glowing red embers and burning logs. In winter the heat from the fire kept them warm, and both the masters and their dogs curled up around it in their sleep, gaining sustenance from its warmth.

And when he discovered metal; bronze, iron, silver and gold, he smelted the crushed ore on mighty fires. Fire lit up ancient Empires, an kept the kings company through the ages. Still the people danced and feasted around the licking tongues of flame, as the centuries progressed.

At times people that were deemed evildoers by their fellows, were burnt by fire. At other times great rejoicing and thanksgiving were done by firelight. And always fire kept its silent vigil over man, and guided him through the night. The fire burnt eternally, and man fed it continually to keep it alive. For, to keep the fire alive, was to keep man alive.

The fire burnt and gave life to mankind in the cold and darkness. Man in turn kept the fire, and saw to it that it was always well supplied with fuel, and safely controlled. For the burning flames gave life, but could equally easily cause death, destruction and ruin. And still the flames burnt on.

As man approached a new age, he increasingly needed the power generated by heat, to run and light his modern cities. Large electric generators were powered by coal, which was heated by fire. Fire generated the power that made the cities around the world glow with a billion lights. It powered the trams and trains, and all long distance communication was dependent on it.

And still in the parks and at their homes, people relaxed and cooked around small fires. The homeless and poor cooked virtually all their meals on open fires. And the flame of the fire blazed on as it had through these countless ages, and man still tended it as he had always done.

And as mankind progressed and found new power sources, his need for fire decreased, but still he used it. In the post modern age man still used fire, for both ceremonial as well as for practical purposes. Fire was a tool, which was in man's hands for all eternity. The flames were still burning, and they were still being fed and kept by man.

The End.

JP Brown ' 19/04/2006.