Classic Poem

The fire, the lamp, and I, were alone together.
Out in the street it was wild and windy weather.

The fire said, “Once I lived, and now I shine.
I was a wood once, and the wind was mine.”

The lamp said, “Once I lived and was the Sun.
The fire and I, in those old days, were one.”

The fire said, “Once I lived and saw the Spring.
I die in smoke to warm this mortal thing.”

The lamp said, “I was once alive and free.
In smoke I die to let this mortal see.”

Then I remembered all the beasts that died
That I might eat and might be satisfied.

Then I remembered how my feet were shod,
Thought of the myriad lives on which I trod,

And sighed to feel that as I went my way,
I was a murderer ninety times a day.