Heartlands

/

Tumblr

/

Linkedin

Tinder Mercies – Poetry

‘But everywhere I look I see fire; that which isn’t flint is tinder and the whole world sparks and flames.’ —Annie Dillard, ‘On foot in Virginia’s Roanoke Valley’ ‘I have found the dominant of my range and state— Love, O my God, to call thee Love and Love’ —Gerard Manley Hopkins, ‘Let Me Be to…

peter-john-maridable-53936-unsplash
photo by Peter John Maridable via Unsplash

‘But everywhere I look I see fire; that which isn’t flint is tinder and the whole world sparks and flames.’

—Annie Dillard, ‘On foot in Virginia’s Roanoke Valley’

‘I have found the dominant of my range and state—

Love, O my God, to call thee Love and Love’

—Gerard Manley Hopkins, ‘Let Me Be to Thee’

It is hearth glow now,

fire for the long eve

flaring occasionally with the spark.

It still has light to give.

It may yet spawn raging blazes

But it pops in hidden crevices of wood

it bides the time

it endures

is not consumed or exhausted.

It wants only tending

this tinder

this tender

this tent and testament.

O what monstrous act was this of yours

to set me loose with a container of fire?

—Alex Joyner

4 responses

  1. jtfinley Avatar
    jtfinley

    I’m not sure why, but the last question of your poem reminds me of another quote from Annie Dillard:
    “On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return. ”
    Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone To Talk

    Like

    Reply
  2. alejojoyner Avatar
    alejojoyner

    Love that quote. And it’s no surprise to me since I believe Annie is my spirit guide. I’m convinced the fire is our essence and it’s a volatile grace full of danger and potential.

    Like

    Reply
  3. Top 10 Posts of 2018 – Heartlands – Heartlands Avatar
    Top 10 Posts of 2018 – Heartlands – Heartlands

    […] Tinder Mercies – Poetry […]

    Like

    Reply
  4. Annie Dillard’s Writing Life – Heartlands Avatar
    Annie Dillard’s Writing Life – Heartlands

    […] I look I see fire,” she claims as she walks through Virginia’s Roanoke Valley. “That which isn’t flint is tinder and the whole world sparks and […]

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to alejojoyner Cancel reply

The author

Alex Joyner is a writer and pastor in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Related posts