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 with those who favor 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.

Analysis

The title “Fire and Ice” explains the poem’s theme of extremes. In this poem, Fire and Ice are literal elements and metaphors for human emotions. Fire connotates fervor, passion, and intensity, while ice symbolizes coldness, indifference, and rigidity. The juxtaposition of these two elements highlights their shared capacity for destruction, despite their opposing natures.

The poem begins with the speaker’s musing: “Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice.” This opening introduces a contrast, setting up the opposing forces of passion and detachment. By saying these views are how people see the end, Frost invites readers to discuss these apocalyptic possibilities.

The speaker’s outlook is shown in the lines: “From what I’ve tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire.” Desire is metaphorically shown with fire, and the speaker’s personal experience shows that he understands the destructive potential of passion.

However, the line shows the speaker’s indifference, “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.” Here, the shift from fire to ice shows the potential for destruction and that hatred is equally capable of devastation. The use of enjambment in “To say that for destruction ice, Is also great” shows the speaker’s indifference, not even taking the time to complete the sentence in full.

Frost employs several poetic techniques to enhance the poem’s impact. The short structure—only nine lines—exemplifies the themes of finality and limitation. The alliteration in “Some say” and “the world will” creates a rhythmic quality to pull readers into the speaker’s musings. Additionally, the metaphors of fire and ice make the poem’s abstract ideas into tangible imagery. Frost’s use of understatement, particularly in the closing lines, gives a sense of indifference to the poem’s meditation on annihilation.

In conclusion, “Fire and Ice” is a poem of balance. Using vivid imagery and poetic techniques, the poem can contrast the dual forces of passion and hatred. Frost’s musings on the potential ends of the world serve as a reflection on humanity’s capacity for both fiery desire and icy detachment, and their profound consequences.

Teeth, by Phil Kaye

Ojīchama is what I call my Japanese grandfather.
In 1945, his Tokyo home was burned to the ground.

Grampy is what I call my American grandpa.
In 1945 he was serving in the USS Shangri-La,
sending off American bomber pilots to burn down Japanese houses.

Our jaws have not yet healed.

1906 – Poland.
Grampy’s father is hiding in an oven.
He doesn’t know the irony of that yet.
He’s heard men singing on the streets below.
Hyenas, my family calls them.
After celebration drinks and songs,
the outside townspeople come in to the Jewish ghetto
for a celebration beating –
molar fireworks and eyelid explosions.
Even when Grampy’s father grows up
the sound of sudden song
breaks his body into a sweat.

Fear of joy
is the darkest of captivities.

1975 – Tokyo.
My father, the long haired student
with a penchant for sexual innuendo,
meets Reiko Hori,
a well dressed banker
who forgets the choruses to her favorite songs.
Twelve years later they give birth
to a lanky light bulb.

1999 – California.
My mother speaks to me in Japanese –
most days I don’t have the strength to ask her to translate the big words.
We burned that house down Mother, don’t you remember?

1771 – Prague.
In the heart of the city, there’s a Jewish cemetery –
the only plot of land
where Grampy’s ancestors were permitted to be buried.
When they ran out of room, they had no choice
but to stack dead bodies, one on top of the other.
Now there are hills
made from graves piled 12 deep,
individual tombstones jutting out crooked,
like valiant teeth
emerging from a jaw
left to rot.

1985 – My parent’s wedding.
The two families sit together,
smiling wider than they need to.
Montague must be so happy,
we can Capulet this all go.

1999 – I sit with Grampy’s cousin,
91 years old and dressed in full uniform.
I plead with him to until the knots in his brow.
He says
Hate is a strong word,
but it’s the only strength that I have left.
How am I to forgive the men
that severed the trunk of my family tree
and used it as timber to warm the cheeks
of their own children?

2010 – Grampy and I
sit in silence
watching his favorite:
baseball.
I look over,
the infertile glare of the television reflects his face, wet.
Grampy sits on his wheelchair,
teeth gasping out of his gums
like valiant tombstones
emerging from a cemetery
left to rot.

The teeth sit staring at me,
nd I can read them:
Louie Bergman, killed at Auschwitz.
Samantha Cohen, killed at Dachau.
William Kaye, killed at the coast of Okinawa.

I will never forget what is happened to our family, Grampy.

And he looks at me with the surprised innocence
of a child struck for the first time.

Phillip,
Forgetting is the only gift I wish to give you.
I have given away my only son,
trying to bury my hate in a cemetery that is already overflowing.
There are nights I am kept awake
by the birthday songs of children
I never let live.

They all look like you.

A plague on both your houses.
​They have made worms’ meat of me.

Analysis

This poem has a myriad of themes, from intergenerational trauma to memory, and the cycle of violence. Its interconnected narrative structure shows how families pass along their history, and potentially their anger and prejudices.

Themes

The poem follows the impact of historical tragedies—from the Holocaust to the firebombing of Tokyo — on Kaye’s family. The grandfather’s tears, the unease with the song, and the lingering hatred illustrate how these wounds remain unhealed.

The poem contrasts remembering and forgetting. Kaye’s grandfather says “Forgetting is the only gift I wish to give you.” which contrasts with Kaye’s determination to hold onto history. “I will never forget what is happened to our family, Grampy.”

Kaye’s grandfather’s cousin’s bitterness and inability to forgive becomes the only thing he has left, “Hate is a strong word, but it’s the only strength that I have left.” This contrasts with Kaye’s implied hope for reconciliation, with Kaye “[pleading] with him to until the knots in his brow.” This generational divide shows the struggle between holding onto pain and letting go of it for future peace. The line “Fear of joy is the darkest of captivities” shows how the violence inflicted upon Kaye’s grandfather traps survivors and their descendants in cycles of fear, mistrust, and sorrow. Even moments of happiness are haunted by the shadows of the past.

Connected Lines

Because of the non linear structure of the poem, there are multiple lines that directly connect to each other. The first is the comparison of what Kaye calls his grandparents, and what both were doing in 1945. Kaye writes, “Our jaws have not yet healed”, meaning that even now the families are still at odds with each other. Another example is the comparison of the overflowing Jewish cemetery in Prauge, and Kaye’s grandfather’s teeth. In both lines, Kaye talks about how the bodies and the teeth look like they have been “left to rot”. He recounts his grandfather telling him about how he tried to “bury his hate in a cemetery that was already overflowing”.

Structure

The poem has a fragmented timeline of events, showing the fractured nature of history. By jumping between 1945, 1999, 1771, and other moments, it emphasizes how the past, present, and future are all interconnected.

The poem often places Japanese and Jewish experiences side by side, emphasizing the differences between them. The wedding between Kaye’s parents becomes a moment of hope but also carries echoes of tension, reffered to as a “Montague” and “Capulet” union. Lines like “Montague must be so happy, we can Capulet this all go”.

Title Significance

The title of this poem is “Teeth”. This poem contains two atrocities that happened to Kaye’s family, the Holocaust and the firebombing of Tokyo. In both of these instances, the bodies of people discovered could be so terribly burnt that the only way to identify them is through their teeth. Additionally, when a tooth begins to rot, it festers from the inside. Similar to how Kaye’s grandfather’s cousin was left a hollow man filled only with hate, the tooth hollows out and dies.

Conclusion

This poem combines many emotional themes to paint a picture of two houses divided. Kaye feels that his Japanese half has been “burned that house down” and has been lost forever. Inversly, Kaye wants to save the history of his Jewish half, promising to “never forget what is happened to our family“. Because of this, we can see the divide between the two families, even through his parents wedding. It is called a Montague and Capulet wedding, with both parties “smiling wider than they need to”. I understand being pulled between two halfs of your family, because my mom and dad’s side are very divided. It’s tough to spend time or work with both of them at the same time, because they don’t like each other.

Beginning, Middle & End

a great story has a beginning, middle & end 
but not necessarily in that order 
we are all great stories

CHAPTER 389

The boy: hair still long, fingers still too short, is 98 years old. He sits at a 
restaurant. Alone. The wiry stranger next to him is eating bread pudding
- the boy's favorite. The boy leans over and takes a forkful.

CHAPTER 14

The boy is eight. He and his best friend have an idea for a prank. They
are sure they will not get caught. The next morning every house on the 
street - except for his own - has toilet paper in the front yard. They get 
caught.

CHAPTER 146

And the boy and girl live happily ever after.

CHAPTER 231

And the boy and the girl vow never to speak to each other again.

every great story has a beginning, middle & end 
not necessarily in that order 
we are all great stories though not all written 
as chapter books

I know there are hours not meant to be bound 
where we have scribbled too much 
in the margins 
to read our own page numbers

like the night you thought you were invincible 
ran out into the lightning storm 
with a million keys 
tied to a million kites 
and a clench in your jaw that said, take me with you dammit 
I dare you

or the weeks when you finally reached out 
to feel your father's cheeks 
just found paper cuts

I know the nights we shatter 
hourglasses to fall asleep 
the afternoons we take photographs 
of our own shadows just to prove 
that we left a mark

I stay awake reminding myself of the wetness 
of my own lips 
remembering that I am a leaf 
off of the tree 
of my parents' first kiss 
& if I hold my shrubs to the sky 
I can still see their veins there

every great story has a beginning, middle & end - not 
necessarily in that order

CHAPTER 189

The boy: too old now to celebrate his birthdays and too young 
to treasure them - uses his fists. Punches his own reflection to 
see if it is real. Breaks his hand into the opposite of a fist, a 
conch shell of sinew. Holds it to his ear and can hear the ocean 
of his bloodline:

Stand up, boy. Not just with your legs. Be your own story. You -                                                                                            magnificent page-turner. You - 600 words per minute. You - 
never read the back cover though you know what happens at the 
end.

CHAPTER 431

Once upon a time there was a boy. He is not here any more. But 
the branches he left all hold their leaves to the sky, and you can 
see the outline of this shadow on the sidewalk.

PROLOGUE

Once upon a time there was a woman and a man and the night 
they first kissed a seedling blossomed from the back of her 
neck.

Analysis

The poem starts by juxtaposing the end of the boy’s life with the beginning, as well as gaining and losing a lover. The poem insinuates how the boy begins to lose those dearest to him, ending up alone. All the while, he retains his childlike innocence, if only slightly, when he takes a bite of the wiry man’s bread pudding. He still has, or regained as we later see from the poem, his happiness even in solitude.

The poem shifts away from its’ chapter-based format in the middle of the piece. It becomes an introspection into the dark moments of his life, ones that he would rather have “scribbled too much in the margins to read [his] page numbers” so that they can never be found. Kaye reflects on his mother and fathers love and light, which he was born out of. Later he reveals the darkness surrounding him and his fathers edgy and sharp relationship. Seeking a stronger connection he, “reached out to feel [his] father’s cheeks” expecting unconditional love, but only “found paper cuts”. He struggles to be seen. To understand himself. He seeks to leave his mark. In “the afternoons we take photographs of our shadows just to prove that we left a mark” in which he tries to find meaning in his life through the shadow he casts on the world. But to find meaning only in darkness leads to a bleak life, one in which a tree cannot grow. When he holds his “shrubs to the sky [he] can still see their veins there” in him. He is part of their legacy, and by continuing to grow and reshape himself he can carry their memory with him.

The story shifts back to a chapter-based style at the end, with the boy in the middle of his life. Directionless and confused, he “punches his reflection to see if it is real”, breaking his hand in the process. To find meaning in life he communes with his ancestors through his broken hand, “a conch shell of sinew” made for him to “hear the ocean of his bloodline”. His ancestors entreat him to stand up, not just in body but in spirit, and look at all he is. He must see how he is strong in his way, and that he must take hold of his own story.

The last two paragraphs of the piece take things beyond the life of the boy, with the same structure of the end before the beginning. In Chapter 431 we see the majestic tree, no longer growing. The branches and leaves it left behind cast a shadow upon the world, no longer in darkness, but as a reminder of everything that the tree left behind. In the Prologue, a man and a woman meet, and their kiss causes a “seedling [to] blossom from the back of her neck”. The seedling for a mighty tree was created through that tiny kiss, a kiss I interpret to be the memory that Kaye keeps in his heart as the moment of his creation.

This poem is the title poem of the poetry book that Phil Kaye wrote, “Date and Time”. Kaye writes this book the same way this poem is written. Disconnected, jumping through the chapters of the unnamed boy’s life. The boy goes from ninety-eight to eight in the space of a few sentences, showing his end and his beginnings. The boy meets his love in one line and loses her in the next. The boy communes with his ancestors while broken, seeking purpose. The boy passes away, but his family keeps his memory and presence alive with them. A man and a woman share a kiss, one that causes a seedling to appear. Kaye writes, “A great story has a beginning, middle & end but not necessarily in that order. We are all great stories”.

When we were first given this assignment, I wasn’t overjoyed to be doing another poetry unit. I think reading poetry is fine, but having to write about poetry was and at times still is pretty boring to me. My teacher Mrs. Smith had laid out a multitude of different poetry books for us to write about, so I decided to get the one with the coolest looking cover. When I picked it up, Mrs. Smith told me that it was a perfect fit for me and that I would love it. At the time, I wasn’t convinced. When I opened the book, I thought that the way the book was structured was cool, so I looked for a poem to read. I went with “Beginning, Middle & End” because it matched the style of the book, and I was blown away. I sat there and read, then reread the poem, so that I could take in what Kaye was trying to convey. This poem is about our relationships and the mark we leave on the world through these relationships. I think Kaye’s book is a must-read for everyone, because of how much symbolism he can pack into such a short piece.

Phil Kaye is a Japanese-American artist. His work has been featured in settings ranging from the New Yorker to the New York Museum of Modern Art, and viewed millions of times online. He has performed his original poetry in twenty countries and was invited to open for His Holiness The Dalai Lama for the celebration of his 80th birthday. He is the co-director of Project VOICE, an organization that partners with schools to bring poetry to the classroom. Phil is a National Poetry Slam finalist, and the two-time recipient of the National College Poetry Slam (CUPSI) award for “Pushing the Art Forward”, given for outstanding innovation in the art of live poetry. A former teacher of weekly poetry workshops in maximum security prisons, Phil was the head coordinator of Space in Prisons for the Arts and Creative Expression (SPACE). His book, Date & Time, was published in 2018 by Button Poetry.

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