Passage

To catch the brand while the flame still burns,
As if there were a celestial spark,
A great explosion of heat somewhere
Near the center, a burning star...

To capture the Phoenix in a cage
Solidified by sound, with a net as fine
And far away
As tiny stars,
Winking his plumes...

There is something burning inside me,
A process consuming
Air, hiring fuel, a flame I tend
Then photograph,
Attending in the memory of the mind
To the vague, stark outlines
Of a thing.