I too felt that the octave was less compelling than the sestet. All of the details of fire-building seemed a convoluted way of stating the obvious about the way fires normally progress. I was a bit restless in that section, but did like the images of the sestet. I think a comma in L10 after "start" would help to avoid confusion. The touch of sadness in the last line adds poignancy to what otherwise could seem sentimental (the common danger of love poems).
Susan
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