Infernal fires flicker underground
And pearly clouds of white do float above
But I do love the burning smells I’ve found
The licking flames and billowed smoke hereof
For nowhere else does fire blaze so bright
As in the realm below the one we tread
For nowhere else can darkness seem so light
As in a realm where all the light has fled
So why is it that burning rays of sun
Above a world of blinding light so stark
Are so preferred upon oblivion
A world of peacefulness and blissful dark
For there are those who think of night as day
And hell as heaven reached another way
Dec 10, 2011
Dec 10, 2011 at 1:37 PM UTC
Infernal fires flicker underground
And pearly clouds of white do float above
But I do love the burning smells I’ve found
The licking flames and billowed smoke hereof
For nowhere else does fire blaze so bright
As in the realm below the one we tread
For nowhere else can darkness seem so light
As in a realm where all the light has fled
So why is it that burning rays of sun
Above a world of blinding light so stark
Are so preferred upon oblivion
A world of peacefulness and blissful dark
For there are those who think of night as day
And hell as heaven reached another way
I wrote this poem because I had some thoughts about the human definition of heaven and hell. And I wondered, wouldn't heaven and hell hold different definitions for different people? In the words of John Milton:
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.
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