The Fire Rose Above My Head
By Ashley Blake
The fire rose above my head
I hid my face from the flames
The heat reigned too strong
Fear flashed through me in a moment
Life or death may snatch you in an instant
Without asking permission
What can you do in a forest
With flames above your head
But surrender
I wonder how many times I’ve stood
Where the fire got too hot
Where I felt only surrender
I set the fire myself
I had to watch it burn
We had to set the fire
We had to start the land over
We have to make it new again
Ten years from now will life grow here
Ten years from now will things be set in order
Today it has to burn
I thought to myself this would be a fierce picture
A strong bold woman surrounded by flames
The reality was
The heat was too hot
The flames were too big
It was terrifying to think the they could run away
and burn up all the land
The power in fire is not one I admire
It reminds me how small a person is
Fire reminds me that I am ash
Fire reminds me that if untouched by it I am treasure
I wonder how much of my life has been lived in a flame filled forest
How much of my life has been walked alongside fire
The flame rose above my head
The flame rose
The flame above my head
It rose above my head
It rose
The weeping trees cried from the crests of their bark
The flames caught in between
Whimpering branches, hissing cacti
The Sandhills saddened by the wounds of their skin
This resilient land will smile again
It will harvest again
It isn’t dying, just mourning
When it feels like I’m dying, is it mourning
I kept feeling like I was dying and yet
I am still alive
Ashley Blake, known as LAE (@talesoflae) is a multidisciplinary artist who is passionate about bridging cultural and ethnic gaps. You can easily find her listening to Korean R&B while scouring through editorial photography or sewing a costume for an upcoming shoot. Her work explores the spaces between reality and fantasy, crossing cultural spheres, seeking to explain the things – seen and unseen – that connect us all.
Ashley is the author of Midnight Harvest and Night of Fires, a credited songwriter, recording artist, the creator of “The Girl Who Sees” visual poetry series, as well as an actor that can be seen in “Bakari” and the thriller “One Leg” which will release in Spring 2020.