Containing the Fire

This is how it is with shame

Containing the Fire

When a wildfire flares, one of the first things 
firefighters do is build a perimeter around it. 
That way, it will not grow. Sure, an ember may 
leap and feast on whatever meets its hunger. 
Sure, it may take a while before the whole 
burning forest simmers down. And yes, much 
will be lost. But the forest regrows, in due time.

This is how it is with shame. This is how it is 
with any large flaming emotion. Any incident 
that whooshes through you, loud and roaring. 
Do not desperately throw whatever you can 
at it: a bottle, a pill, an itching addiction, 
a plea for correction. Instead, clear anything 
that feeds it, strip down each moment to its 
bare patient breath, gather the large stones 
of your grief and build a circle. In time, 
the shame will settle. In time, that stubborn 
seed inside you will break open. And one day, 
after the whole of you regrows confident and 
verdant, you’ll look back in gratefulness for 
what once cleared you through to grace.

- Moudi Sbeity

Photo by Adam Wilson on Unsplash

It’s curious how poems arrive. I was watching an interview with firefighters, and so learned of this fact about creating a perimeter to contain it. Later in the day, while talking a friend through heartbreak and shame, I shared what I’d learned about wildfires as a kind of encouragement to let these emotions run their course in a contained environment without desperate attempts to put it out. The poem practically wrote itself after that. Talking about what I’m learning is one thing I find helpful in addition to journaling about them, a way to process and integrate learned information and experience. Thank you universe, God, muse, for another metaphor. Gratitude for all firefighters keeping us safe, and prayers for rain.

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News + Events

📚 Join me on August 15th from 10 - 12 MDT for a Book Tour Workshop / Fundraiser. I’ll be reading from my forthcoming books, offering prompts, and then opening up space to share. Sign up here: https://habibialhamdulillah.eventbrite.com

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Habibi Means Beloved (memoir)
Alhamdulillah Anway (poetry)

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