ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html> <head> <title>soniat4</title> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Arachnophilia 4.0"> <meta name="FORMATTER" content="Arachnophilia 4.0"> <meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="content-type"> <meta name="keywords" content="Soniat, Katherine Soniat"> </head> <body style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" alink="#ff0000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#800080"> <center> <table style="text-align: left; width: 753px; height: 32px;" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffe4bd"><big><big><big><big><span style="font-family: Algerian;">WORLD VOICES</span></big></big></big></big><br> <br> <div style="text-align: center;"> <big><span style="font-family: Blue Highway; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">THE FIRE SETTERS</span></big><br> &nbsp; <span style="font-family: Blue Highway;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">BY KATHERINE SONIAT<br> </span></span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <br> <table style="text-align: left; width: 751px; height: 32px;" border="1" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="10"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 150px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" valign="top"><br> <font color="black" face="arial, helvetica" size="3"><b>Contents</b></font> <p style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><small style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat.html">Home</a> <br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="intro.html">Introduction</a><br> <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="bio.html">About the Author</a> <br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat1.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Dog Days</span></a> <br> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat2.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The Cathedral at Chartres</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat3.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Grafitti</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat4.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The Dream Salon</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat5.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The Givens</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat6.html">Street Kisses</a></span><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat7.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Cool Theatre: Oyster<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Plot</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat8.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Nightshade</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat9.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Flower Viewing</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat10.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Painting White<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mountain</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat11.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Composure</span></a> <br> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat12.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Impoverishment</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat13.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The Wanderers</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat14.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Solstices</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat15.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Ghost Laundry</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat16.html">Family Story</a></span><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat17.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Blame it on the Cows</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat18.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Day Spool</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat19.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Hestia</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat20.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The Fire Setters</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="soniat21.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The Celebrants</span></a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <p style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><a href="http://chapbooks.webdelsol.com/worldvoices/index.htm" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> World Voices Home</span></a><br> <br> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="http://literaryexplorer.webdelsol.com/">The Literary Explorer</a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="http://writersonthejob.webdelsol.com/">Writers on the Job</a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="http://booksforgottenorunknown.blogspot.com/">Books Forgotten</a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="http://thomasekennedy.com/">Thomas E. Kennedy</a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="http://www.waltercummins.com/">Walter Cummins</a><br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="http://webdelsol.com/">Web Del Sol</a><br> <br> <br> </p> </span></small></p> </td> <td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><br> <center> </center> <center> <div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><big><big>The Dream Salon <br> <small style="font-style: italic;"><small>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </small></small></big></big></span><br> <br> Ninety-six roses, she took in for May <br>in a business where thick violet rinses <br>coat the hair of women. <br> <br>Eight dozen stems sent by eight different men, <br>Our lady of petals, a hot new commodity <br>after moving out on her boyfriend, <br> <br>who still is an avid contender. <br>To be sought by an army of lovers <br>with such a flourish of flowers, <br> <br>and she a shop-girl among women. <br>Each man she led to the basin, <br>head back, throat arched <br> <br>while she massaged the skull's old phrenology. <br>Gold moons on her ears, hum in the air, <br>as off went their wet locks. <br> <br>Again and again <br>until she owned a battalion of biblical Samsons, <br>ready to be swept away. <br> <br>A potent condition, this month of May—&#151; <br>the roses added to, her silver sheers flying. <br>Air thinned to quotidian essence, <br> <br>and all she could do was smile from her station <br>at the thought of eight captive gallants. <br>But then, as if poked by a love <br> <br>too smoothly conceived, <br>she dreamed herself lowered, <br>set down in an army not made of lovers, <br> <br>and she, no Lysistrada, <br>had not the foggiest notion <br>how to reverse the oncoming slaughter. <p> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><the belled="" air="" ringing.=""><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <small>First published in <i>Boston Rreview</i></span></small><br> <br> <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"></span> </the></span></div> <small><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"> </span></small><br> <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"></span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"></span><b><font size="5"><br> </font></b><font size="3"><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> </font></center> <font size="3"><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> </font></span><font size="3"><br style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"> </font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <br> </div> </body> </html>