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 Copyright ©2019 Temidayo Jacob

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission
of the author or publisher.

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to

foenix press

Published by foenix press

Mobile: 09031561204

Email: foenixpress@gmail.com

Website: www.foenixpress.wordpress.com

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4

DEDICATION.................................................................................................................................5

WATCHING IT BURN.................................................... ..............................................................6

BECOMING A PHOENIX..............................................................................................................8

LOVE AFIRE................................................................................................................................10

BURNING FOR BURNING.........................................................................................................12

HELL. NO! HELL FIRE...............................................................................................................14

REDEMPTION..............................................................................................................................16

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 INTRODUCTION

Fire is a phenomenal element. It represents many things to different people. It takes the shape of
destruction, pain, lust, judgment, purification, grit, etc. Nothing encounters fire and remains the
same. For instance, raw gold is less attractive until it has been purified by fire. And when you
light a candle, with time, it melts into wax – it takes a different form. It becomes something
touched by fire.

As a Sociologist-Poet, I am fascinated by how different groups in society associate with concepts

and ideals. My job is to give expression to such ideals and offer a platform for artistic expression.
It is not strange that every society has its nonconformists and dissidents who question religion,
morality, social decorum and the likes. I believe such group of people should have the liberty to
express their views no matter how unpopular with mainstream ideologies.

Beauty of Ashes explores fire as a metaphor. A metaphor for survival as demonstrated in

―Becoming a Phoenix‖; a symbol of lust as explored in ―Burning for Burning‖, consequences of
one’s actions as shown in ―Redemption‖ or an orgasmic climax, with its aftermath of emptiness,
as unveiled in ―Love Afire‖. Taking a religious symbolism, fire could mean purgatory, hence the
poem, ―Hell. No! Hell Fire.‖ I question the conflict between the understanding that everything
God creates is beautiful and the reality of hell. Why should people fear hell if it was created by
God? Shouldn’t hell be beautiful? ―Watching it Burn‖ is a multilayered metaphor addressing
several issues in one. You’re right if you claim it touches on the irreverent, and you’re not wrong
if you say it explores the concept of smoking and the ideals held by smokers.

More intentionally, Beauty of Ashes is a celebration of fire. It is an attempt to offer the reader the
opportunity to see fire from different perspectives. For instance, the burning cigar on the cover
page does not end in ashes, it burns into a fiery flower, beautiful and alluring. It is a symbol of
will in the face of adversity, a determination to enjoy one’s life in spite of its many challenges.
As you read, let your mind flirt with the images that accompany each poem.

Remember, what does not survive fire becomes ashes; what survives becomes phoenix. Find your
rebirth from the abyss of fire.

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DEDICATION

for ashes,

for flame,

for fire.

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 WATCHING IT BURN
(after Adedayo Agarau)

i saw your god

trapped in a page of his book.
i lit him up into incense
& watched him burn slowly,
wondering if he would remain
the ancient of days, or
change form as he burns into ashes.

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 BECOMING A PHOENIX

i wrap a part of the creation story &

let it dance in my lips like mary jane,
to remind me of the genesis of burning
and create a revelation of inferno.

how beautiful it is to have a revelation

of smoke racing furiously into heaven
from a conquered lake of fiery fire!

no man can stand my explosion into bliss:

becoming a phoenix means being able
to create paradise out of a burning abyss.

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 LOVE AFIRE

a little piece of fire

giving head to the
clitoris of a white candle:
with orgasm transforming
an erection into wax, &
wax transforming into rock
waiting & wanting to be
set on fire again & again
until it comes face to face
with a volcano that turns it
into ashes.

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 BURNING FOR BURNING

take off your flowery silk

& stand before me;
a bush burning like
a stick of weed set ablaze
let me touch you
with the fire burning in my body.

to carry fire means

to become a firefly.
to become a firefly means
to become light of the world.
to become light of the world means
to antagonize & deaden darkness.

cling to my chest
like the butterfly you are.
ride me like a chariot of fire.
burn till dawn with me from
being a campfire
to a wildfire.
you've always wanted to burn
to both coal & ashes. now, have
your prayers not been answered
through my blood, skin & boner?

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 HELL. NO! HELL FIRE

a part of my brain
seeks to understand the dynamics of
people's weariness when they hear "hell".
no! "hell fire".

from holy books i've read,

i can see that God is a perfectionist
who had made everything good for man.

God created heaven & hell, he looked at them

& he saw that they were very good.
so, he rested on a sabbath.

sometimes, i wonder why people

are too scared to go to hell even when
they so much know that all things
God created are bright & beautiful.

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 REDEMPTION
(after Micheal Ace)

[a heart stops bleeding]

here, bleeding is the
—broken heart of the devil,
—shape of a faceless shadow,
—bone made with flames and ash,
—emptied ego of a man
—& bag of sin in an ocean.

sometimes, a man turns back to a boy

when his mind turns a journey of no return;
singing sad songs of farewell.
he becomes a white candle in darkness,
breaks into different sizes & lights himself.
his wax doesn't melt down into a new city;
it keeps on flowing like the water men pour
away after washing every part of the dead.
he carries every part of himself
in his mouth like a cigarette on fire. &
burns his body and soul like a rejected poem.

when next you find a boy in ashes, write

a poem before him, in memory of him.
tell him the ocean is in tears, waiting for
him to bring his body and soul for cleansing.

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