Household Fires
In the eighties, a frying pan filled with grease, flaming on stovetop
thrust under faucet, blaze to the ceiling
In the nineties, a broken toaster
butter knife wedged in its release mechanism, cheap solution to a broken spring
the beeping alarm for five minutes before anyone noticed, thick grey smoke cloud hovering, full conflagration off the bread
In the aughties, a can of tomato sauce forgotten inside the oven, kept there for storage
boiling as an easter bird cooked at 350 degrees fahrenheit, preheated
until the sauce became molten, liquid jet fuel, cracking open a hole at the can’s bottom
hit the oven door, denting the interior metal on its way out, flew into the air, spun like a catherine wheel, greek fire spraying across the kitchen
Now it’s the teens
Jarett Kobek is a California based writer. His most recent book, ATTA, was published in 2011 by Semiotext(e).