Friday, 6 February 2026

IRON FILING SPARKLE

The Secret Poets observed of this post's poem that it need the consequences of the indoor fireworks described. You can read the previous versions here and here. 

INDOOR FIREWORKS


Undeniably the box held promise

a sun bleached label with wonky grammar

overprinted with geysers of bright light


Reality was something different


A splutter of iron filing sparkle

a brief magnesium flare

the half remembered tang of a childhood chemistry set


I open windows onto a still night

the smoke refuses to disperse

as the damp air creeps in


Greasy smears everywhere

grey ash on the three piece suite

stuck to the curtains


The only thing I was grateful for back then

was there were no smoke detectors

to shatter our dumbfounded silence


Some life lessons are best learned early

As you can see the poem is now longer and more descriptive. I'm still not sure I am totally happy with it...

Here's Jacqui Dankworth with a wonderous version of an old standard.

Until next time.

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