The Merging

poem by Sam Rose

​the flame in the hearth licks the inside
                                                                     of its cheeks
heated stone
                         I could tear from the walls
and place on my back
as a makeshift mantle massage
                                                as I lie on a rug
                                                                         in the inglenook
                                                                          I say inglenook
when I could just say fireside
                                                                          I say inglenook
 
when I could just say nothing
                                                                                I use words
when I could just set myself on fire
 
but this is how I make hell comfortable
 
when I’ve had my fill of fire
I go to see a lake about some peace
                                                     and it cools me for a while
                                                                             I say a while
when I could say not very long
                                                                             I say a while
 
when I could say hardly at all
                                                                               I use words
when I could just drown myself
 
but this is how I make the merging
                                                  of two worlds comfortable
this is how I reconcile
                                                                   hell and less hell
                                                                   hell and samsara
 
I throw the hot stones into the lake
pray for my two worlds
                                                                    to kill each other
                                                       to cancel each other out
and I will live
                                 in the steam that rises from the water
                                                           my existence renewed
                                                         my existence relearned

About the writer

Sam Rose is a writer and editor from Northamptonshire, England. She is the editor of Peeking Cat Poetry Magazine and The Creative Truth. Her work has appeared in Scarlet Leaf Review, Poetry Pacific, Haiku Journal, In Between Hangovers, and others. Sam is a cancer survivor and primarily uses her experiences with this to write poetry and memoir. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to rock music and eating too much chocolate.
 
Website: https://www.writersam.co.uk/
Twitter and Instagram: @writersamr