poem “Because of a Fire”, a poem based on the 2019 poem “Because of Fire” written for an Every Event of the year poetry book but re-designed for a The Universe is in your Hands book from CyberWit.net; a poem written on the anniversary of the start of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 which lasted for 2 days, that talks about destruction from fire but also reflects on good things from fire (candles, a crackling campfire or a warm fireplace), and about how THIS destruction from this fire allowed the city to rebuild with better street and building designs, which translated into a better city, By Chicago Poet Janet Kuypers

[the Writing of Kuypers] [JanetKuypers.com] [Bio] [Poems] [Prose]

Enjoy this YouTube video from 8/17/24 of the “The Universe is in Your Hands” Janet Kuypers 2024 poetry book feature at the Tangible Books event in Chicago, where she read (as one long reading) her poems “Queen ISIS”, “Enveloping Fog”, “Otherwise Never-ending Saver of Life”, “Just Far Enough to Feel Free”, “Willie Pete”, “For Far Too Many Years”, “Xyresic Flames (The Universe is in your Hands edit)”, “Because of a Fire”, “Big Shoulders: This Was Her Home”, “Protecting Peace can Put you in Prison”, “One Year After, the Icing on the Cake”, and “Ever Elusive Happiness”, from her CyberWit 2024 poetry book “The Universe is in Your Hands” (Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; on Facebook, Twitter/X, Linked in, Pinterest, Instagram, & Tumblr).
Also enjoy this YouTube video filmed from a Panasonic Lumix FZ300 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter/X, Link ed in, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr).
Also enjoy this YouTube video filmed from a Samsung S9 camera & zoomed; on Facebook, Twitter/X, Link ed In, Pinterest, Instagram, & Tumblr).
also enjoy this as a Facebook live video stream that was filmed & streamed from a Samsung S9 camera; on Facebook, Twitter, Link ed in, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuypers #janetkuypersfeature #janetkuyperstheuniverseisinyourhands

Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her “The Universe is in Your Hands” poetry book Chicago-themed poems “Big Shoulders: This Was Her Home”, “Because of a Fire”, and “My Kind of Town (The Universe is in Your Hands edit)”, then her poem “Knew the Word” from the Scars Publi cations book “Every Event of the Year (Volume Two: July-December)” (for the date Illinois became a state), + her poem “New to Chicago”, all read live as the finalé performer at Chicago’s Windy City Words open mic on 8/17/24 (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter/X, Link ed in, Pinterest, Instagram, & Tumblr).
Also enjoy this YouTube video that was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix FZ300 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter/X, Link ed in, Pinterest, Instagram, & Tumblr).
Also enjoy this YouTube video that was filmed from a Samsung S9 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter/X, Link ed in, Pinterest/X, Instagram, & Tumblr).
Also enjoy this Facebook live video stream when Facebook kept it online, that was filmed & streamed live from a Samsung S9 camera; on Facebook, Twitter, Link ed in, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypers #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuyperstheuniverseisinyourhands

Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her Down in the Dirt 9-12/24 “Shattered Facades” & the CyberWit 2024 Janet Kuypers poetry book “The Universe is in Your Hands” book poems “Because of a Fire”, “Retracing Steps Through History” (+ sharing Dinosaur track images 1 & 2), & “Culture Woven into Cloth” (+ showing Panamanian “mola” woven cloth art images 1 & 2) during her “Poetic License 1/5/25 Global Open Mic” through a Zoom meeting and a Facebook event page (from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter/X, Link ed In, Pinterest, Instagram, & Tumblr).
Also enjoy this as a Facebook live video stream that was filmed from a Samsung S24 camera / a Green Screen filter; on Facebook, Twitter/X, Link ed in, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuyperstheuniverseisinyourhands #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuyperspoeticlicense

Because of a Fire
Janet Kuypers
3/5/24
When we see a fire overtake
the 850-year old Notre Dame,
a monument to religion, beauty, history —
then wildfires engulf islands,
ravage a quarter-million acres
annually, we are shocked by the loss from fire,
that primal silent killer. But we keep
candles lit, hear the crackling campfire,
feel the fireplace warmth, which reminds us
how we still love fire so.
Because if mass fire seems to mean
death and destruction, maybe, after, say, the
1871 great fire of Chicago that
took over the only city I love,
maybe that destruction only led to building
something bigger, better, stronger,
that made more sense. Even Chicago’s
underground subways are made from the post-
great fire pedestrian underground
walkways. And when I now walk
in diverse cultural neighborhoods until I reach
the Lake, I turn to see the most
beautiful skyline I’ve ever seen...
that’s when it clicks. This frightening history
of fire — that scares some so, well,
afterward? That’s when people create
something that seems so right. Because of a fire.

Copyright © Janet Kuypers.

All rights reserved. No material
may be reprinted without express permission.

Like Janet Kuypers’ writing on any of these links below:

my hand to an anim of jkchair