The Elements of Magic

By: Valeria Posted on: August 12, 2004

There is one force in the world to defy all else: magic ---
Born from the bottomless depths of elemental water
Molded by the eternal strength of the ageless earth
Fostered by swift-sweeping whirlwinds formed by air
Tempered by the crimson inferno of all-searing fire ---
The driving energy of life, source of both mystery and wonder.

Even the most jaded are hard-pressed not to gasp, to wonder
At the strange shimmering miracles produced by magic,
By the roaring blaze of unquenchable, indomitable fire
The all-encompassing flowing currents contained in water
By the swirling winds and cruel tempests evoked by air
And by the silent steadfastness of the timeless earth.

Yet still there exist strange miracles upon this earth
Marvels and mysteries that inspire our fear and wonder:
A flower's bloom, a sublime melody floating in the air
Are these not but another and still subtler form of magic?
Else why does their beauty move us to shed tears of water,
Else why does their memory turn our very souls to fire?

Truly, there exist other things with the power to fire
Our imagination, freeing us from the base and lowly earth
Things not born of mystic arts, but of sky and rock and water
Until by nature's touch they have become a greater wonder,
Stranger and more powerful than a mortal's fragile magic
Which dies so soon and leaves no trace in the capricious air.

For in those quiet mornings amid sunrise's glow, when the very air
Tastes of rapture sweet as wine, or beside the glimmering fire
That burns with such splendid fury --- can you sense no magic
In the beauty around us, part and parcel of the selfsame earth?
Within the visible world one can find sources enough for wonder
From a lover's smile to the sight of sunshine shining on clear water.

Upon such things does true magic spring --- from rushing water
That soothes away our fear, from a sweet scent that lingers in the air
From beauty too sharp to endure, too overpowering even for wonder
Or fear --- compared to this, mortal magic is but a tiny spark to a fire
For greater things than mere power govern the workings of the earth
To create the omnipotent force that we now call the art of magic.

Only when you see wonder not only in enchanted torrents of fire,
But in the music in lapping water or the silent beauty of the earth
In all the miracles that fill the air --- only then will you know the very
heart of true magic.