Beach Fires

By Hannah Baumgartner

Trust me, it’s easy he said.

Dig a small shallow clearing in the sand,
lay some kindling at the bottom,
and ignite with the lighter.
Simple enough.

Young hands caressed the sand,

broke the twigs, and laid the leaves.

His time-calloused hands then flicked on the lighter,

a small flame undulating at the tip
quickly engulfed the dry pine needles in a blaze
but then instantaneously subsided to a mere glow.

Again, the spark of the lighter.

Fire all-consuming, seemingly omnipresent1
for a brief moment
and, with the speed of its inception,
the flame was silenced.

Dad, it’s not working.

It’s the pit- it’s too deep

1
Enjambment
he said.

He casually scooped a bit of sand from the perimeter of the hole,

a sandcastle moat
leading to the ocean.2

A breath of wind rushed through the parted sea of tan granules,3

turning the smoking lightwood into a profusion of pulsing flames

Sometimes, Dad told me,

all you need to start a fire
is a little bit of wind.

2
Simile
3
Allusion
Response:
1. The prompt I chose was memory minutes because it allowed me to reflect on a special
moment in life while trying to convey a deeper meaning in a seemingly insignificant
moment.
2. The punctuation I used helped to construct a series of sentences punctuated by commas
and line breaks. I chose to include this style of punctuation because it helped to facilitate
the story telling nature of the poem.
3. The three literary devices used were allusion, enjambment, and similes. The allusion in
stanza six, which describes the pathway created to a parted sea refers to the biblical tale
of Moses parting the red sea. I chose to use this to help the reader visualize what was
happening. Secondly, enjambment was used in stanza 4 to help control the flow of the
poem. By choosing not to include any punctuation, which often forces a pause, the stanza
begins to read more quickly which aids in a climactic effect, ending in “the flame was
silenced.”. Lastly, the use of the simile in stanza six, which compares the opening to a
sandcastle mote connecting to the ocean further helps the readers to visualize the action.
Also, because it alludes to the ocean water flooding into the mote, it foreshadows the gust
of wind that later ignites the flame.
4. The structure of my poem is most clearly defined by the stanzas, each one displaying a
singular thought or action in the “story”. Additionally, the stanzas help to draw attention
to and isolate points, such as the dialogue in stanza five, so it doesn’t get lost in the body
of the poem.