Sunday, August 13, 2006

The Temple Burns on Sunday

"The crowd, restless earlier, became quiet as the drumming reached a crescendo. The burn flared to life, as separate patches of flame lapped along the bridges, pagodas and the center spire. Quickly the patches merged into a conflagration and the magnificent temple ignited with a loud whoosh and a cyclone of fire. The crowd gasped as the crimson flames pierced the inky sky. The structure, that moments ago had been the ornamental, lacelike temple, now merged into a firestorm of sparks and flames skyrocketing into the ether on a frantic mission to deliver the missives to the dead. We watched the temple burn, awed, as hot pieces of ash rained down from the sky..." .©

From Festival Madness, my work in process.
All week, inside the temple, Burners leave notes and letters tand even drawing for departed loved ones, another way of saying goodbye. Subsequently, the burning temple gives a kind of closure to the writers of the missives.

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