A young child sits quiet, the forest is dark Possibilities overflow his unbroken heart I ask him, "Well, after the brush takes the spark, what do you see in the fire?" I see light within color, and color in light Trophies I'll take home, and battles I'll fight A bright blue horizon, with no pain in sight I'll be there and so will my parents And you're invited, too A life-sentence inmate in orange prisoner clothes Who's been told his whole life "That's just how it goes" Who came out swinging from poverty row Sits a bit close to the dangerous glow What do ya see in the fire? I see rich people laughin' with food on their plates And neighborhood bullies imprinted with hate Moms and dads screaming at each other, insane And hard grey redemption a little too late And I see myself as I might've been I'm handsome and capable and funny A young woman in college, entranced by the flames Is pondering silent how perfectly strange A girl could be called by so many names and not one be the one she was given What do you see in the fire? I see myself in the mirror, not pretty enough And digital images reducing love My roommate enslaved by expectations above, and then I see the face of my mother A first year preacher stands on his feet His love for mankind is true and complete While the frigid wind blows through the trees I ask, as he leans away from the heat, "What do you see in the fire?" I see swirling confusion, question, and loss And I know all about Christ and the cross But I cannot explain the holocaust I stuttered when a young man asked me to I just couldn't find the words A woman of 90, with wisdom in spades Her mind still as sharp as her kitchen blades I ask as her memory nonetheless fades, "What do you see in the fire?" I see the touch of my husband who recently passed Our hometown before the roads got so fast And I see it now in an impatient blur And I see how in love we were I see the good Lord offering mercy I see the good Lord offering mercy I see the good Lord offering mercy Someone I care for, she sits by my side I can feel the past and the future collide She leans in and whispers, "Don't think, just decide, what do you see in the fire?" I see the faces of my victims whose hearts I once broke Calm and alive in the curling smoke All I can do is sit here and hope they may find a way to forgive me There's something unspoken there in your eyes, a pain or a love I don't recognize I better ask you now before it dies, "What do you see in the fire?"