“You’re on fire!” is metaphorically used to refer to someone who is doing very well usually in some kind of competition. “The world is on fire,” on the other hand, leans more heavily into the literal meaning of burning in the context of misfortune or disaster. “Fire” by itself can also refer to people’s passion and commitment. Recently, an active US military serviceman set himself on fire, literally, as a measure to stop the genocide of Palestinians and US complicity in it.
Somehow, I remain like water, maybe because I have to be – not to put out fires – but to keep myself from bursting into flame.
I am hopeful to be like water, even if sometimes I wish I was fire. I remember that water is life, and together, “We are waves of water against the walls oppressors built to try to control and contain us” (YK Hong, “We are Water”, 2023).
our way home 