Faith

The faith is the water.

It makes the fire bearable. It keeps

The fire from burning us utterly

So that, instead of being useless ash,

We are refined beauty.

The more fire we have,

The more water we need,

The more faith we produce as

We keep building and building and building

It up so that,

When the next wave of heat comes

We are ready.

The seed of the word

Must be watered with fire

And faith

And it must have deep roots

To reach to the deep underground wellspring

Of living water that can protect

The plant that breaks through the ground

From being dried out by the fire

And becoming brittle and without hope.

But the fire burns

And the water heals

And together they

Make us

Whole.

Because without fire,

There is no water

Yes, without fire

There is no need for

Faith.