Fire and Ice
by Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold those who favour fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

My interpretation of this iconic poem by Robert Frost is that it is a cautionary tale, not one of fire or ice, but one of indecision and contradiction.

In life, we are often faced with many decision and thoughts, most of which often conflict with each other, as we humans are extremely confused and contradictory creatures. Taking inspiration from old fables like “The Matchstick Girl” and the movie “Matrix”, i have chosen to portray my interpretation in a narrative form.

In the beginning, the human ponders the choices laid out before him with intensity and concentration, confused of which path he should take.

As the thoughts grow, they begin to grow as he ponders the possible paths each choice could take him, as the various decisions begin to join together to form a mindscape, with various contradictory choices existing within the same plane.

However, this indecision will be his downfall, as uncontrolled thought will consume the mind as the flames of thought spread uncontrollably and threaten to consume the entire mindscape, the person himself.

Finally, one last question is left. With the flames of thought extinguished, what choice did the person make? With the flame gone, you cant tell which train of thought it belonged to, with a lingering sense of suspense and mystery.

Or maybe the two choices were actually one and the same?

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