Fire and Ice and the Human Spirit

 Some say the world will end in fire,

 Some say in ice.

 From what I’ve tasted of desire

 I hold with those who favor fire.

 But if it had to perish twice,

 I think I know enough of hate

 To say that for destruction ice

 Is also great

 And would suffice.

Robert Frost, 1874-1963

I have a love affair with the literary arts.  Recently in our culture, this love has taken a back seat to the modern day world of technology.  This is sad for me.  Writing has always been a way to make sense of the world.  I was fascinated in school when we could analyze poetry and short stories.  It was like watching documentaries on the History Channel today.  They were not just being words written on a page to be read.  Let me explain in case your English teacher didn’t set you on fire for this.  Hang in here with me for a minute. Unless you’re a slow reading, then maybe a couple minutes.

In 1920 Robert Frost, a prominent New England Author, penned Fire and Ice for Harper’s Magazine.  Since the beginning of time, humanity has had the notion that all things are temporary and can’t last forever engraved in their souls.  The end of the world has been in contemplation since Adam and Eve.  The discussions came up frequently in circles in the 20’s.  Scientists for ages have been trying to answer this question in length as well.

This poem, in a searching thought out of the heart of the author, Frost encompassed all the theories, scientific opinion, and the 14^th century epic poem, Dante’s Inferno, and came to the conclusion that the end is not a physical problem, it’s a heart problem.

Wow. I've got goosebumps. Knowing all this, can you read the poem again and does it spark thought and emotion in your heart?  What was he thinking? What passions had he experienced could be right up there with fire?

A story or poem can touch my soul as deep as witnessing the Grand Canyon.  A true writer doesn’t write to a “target” audience of the masses.  He doesn’t write so his opinion will be accepted.  He is an artist where the canvas is his heart and the paint is his pen. He writes because he has an overwhelming story or experience in his heart that is busting at the walls to be put out into existence.  Every time a writer writes, he is vulnerably sharing a piece of himself. 

We need to fall back in love with this art form of self expression.