Boys and Fire

Posted on January 16, 2004 in Neighborhood

Boys tease fire like they tease wild animals. The other evening, I glanced out my window to see three teenagers poking at a writhing flame in a garage. The cat-sized conflagration hissed and snapped at them as they danced and taunted it.

Today, as the boys arrived home from school, the silence of the afternoon was punctuated by the explosions of small firecrackers. The yellow lab who lives on a balcony ahead and over to the left of our place began to bark and didn’t stop even as the last blueness of day collapsed before the onslaught of night. I slammed the window shut as a shout of protest about their disturbing my nap. They moved down the street.

I gave up, rose, put on my bathrobe, and went to the kitchen. As I lit a stick of patchouli incense, I asked What is it about boys and fire? The stick didn’t catch the first time. I struck a second match, lit the punk, and let it burn for ten seconds until I discerned a glow like a smile indicating that it was ready to smolder.