Burning Books
Harry Potter tied to the stake,
the “Holier than Thou” ones light the pyre, stringing marshmallows
on limbs snapped from the burning bush
shortly before its point of ignition.
They toss The Handmaid onto the pile
and the flames lick up high enough
To Kill a Mockingbird on an overhanging limb.
Hidden deep in the woods,
in the shadows Where the Wild Things Are,
The ghost of Ray Bradbury views the flames,
guesses their temperature at Fahrenheit 451.
The Holy Ones brave The Power and the Glory of the flames
to squeeze the molten marshmallows
from their sticks onto Hershey-Bar layered
(ironically named) Graham crackers.
They swat at The Lord of the Flies
risen from the flames
to rest upon each gooey mess
created by the heat from all the ignited words.
Long after 1984,
still ignorant of its warnings,
they lift their arms heavenward
in thanks for the holy communion
they are about to partake in.
And thus,
Their Eyes Were Watching God
even as they overlooked
the coincidence of its immolation.
For Sadje’s What Do You See prompt.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
You know this was my first thought when I saw this image: burning books. Thank you Judy for writing about such a burning ( no pun intended) topic. I hope in our insanity to make things ‘ comfortable’ we don’t go Too far that we cannot return. Thanks for joining in.
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Sorry for the bad Graham Greene pun. My corny side wouldn’t let my logical side cut it.
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Haha! No worries, I enjoyed it.
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In the forest are people wandering around reciting the book they have become so it will not be lost.
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Now that’s another story, Martha. You should write it!!!
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That would mean re-living it. No, no no no no. Suffice it to say, I would still be in the friendly mountains of Southern California not that I’m not in a wonderful place now, but…
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Excellent
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
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Sadly true…
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Witches next?
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As sad state of affairs as so many wander willingly back to the dark ages – and these flames will not be lighting their way back out.
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A splendid response to the prompt. I wondered whether you would feature Fahrenheit 451 and you didn’t disappoint
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It seemed an obvious one, didn’t it??
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Yep
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Can you see the fire goddess riding an elephant rising up through the flames? This is actually the burning off of my spare lot before we leveled and cleared it to create a little park. I love this photo, though, and have used it for several illustrations of blogs.
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Now you mention it, I can – I looked again.
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she could also be riding a fish backwards!!! But the elephant makes more sense.
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That fourth stanza about the Graham cracker is a gem! Well done with the poem.
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