Ice and Fire

The ancients wrote of ice and fire as opposites,
dynamic tension, holding the world in check
and balance between end and beginning,
cold and heat, wet and dry, dark and light.
Dualism is an old tradition, though not
the only one.

Some say the world’s come down,
all meanings are attenuated, pale shadows
and ten man now cannot lift a stone
such as the heroes threw at Troy.
It may be so. I’m shivering in an
air-conditioned office, while outside
pavement buckles, the thermometer
reads ninety-seven.