The Poetry Woodland Series: Fire-Flowers*
Public domain poetry readings & analysis. Vol. 4 | Emily Pauline Johnson's Poems 🪴
Fire-Flowers*
by Emily Pauline Johnson
And only where the forest fires have sped,
Scorching relentlessly the cool north lands,
A sweet wild flower lifts its purple head,
And, like some gentle spirit sorrow-fed,
It hides the scars with almost human hands.
And only to the heart that knows of grief,
Of desolating fire, of human pain,
There comes some purifying sweet belief,
Some fellow-feeling beautiful, if brief.
And life revives, and blossoms once again.*This poem is in the public domain!
Emily Pauline Johnson, who also published under her grandfather’s name, Tekahionwake (“double wampum”), was one of the most notable entertainers & performers in the late 19th century, gaining international recognition (March 10th, 1861 - March 7th, 1913). She was a poet, writer, and artist born on the Six Nations Reserve, Canada West (near Brantford, Ontario, Canada); is listed as a Person of National Historic Significance; and was one of 12 women considered to appear on a Canadian banknote. Often writing to support her family, she published work that braided Native beliefs & storytelling with English poetry structure and dramatic intensity for the stage. Please read more about her life & work here, here, and here.
I don’t have as much formal/technical commentary to share about this poem—it’s beautiful, a gentle talisman, and very old (it originally appeared in Canadian Born (G. N. Morang, 1903))—much older than Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, ninety years later.
If you know me, you know how I feel about Octavia Butler & her writing, AND, I hope to emphasize the deep, self-inflicted wound that is climate change: our leadership(s) not listening to (& exploiting) Indigenous people. Poetry has been an irreplaceable gateway to movements—for time immemorial—via feeling; now is a great time to learn & circulate Land Back resources.
Here are a few that I’ve engaged with, though there are many more:
And here is a blurb I shared last Friday, with an update:
If you’re in the LA area affected by the fires or looking to support those who are, here is a helpful spreadsheet, ways to support displaced Black families, an informative & clear video by Leah Thomas, and a resource/poetry (Good Fire by Kinsale Drake)/hope/community-rich newsletter by Nicole Cardoza at Reimagined. ❤️🩹
Take care of yourselves, everyone. 🌱