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The man grinned. "All right, I'll tell it to you again.
There's a fire down inside of us
That burns without a care.
With blackness deep and treacherous
For those who venture there.
Wondering leaves you empty,
Imaging makes you cry.
Dreamers always live forever,
Or at least until they die.
The way of fire is clearly marked,
With starlight in your soul.
It burns away a little part
And leaves more than the whole.
Dreamers go on dreaming
Even when their dreams are dead.
Stars and winds; moons and skies;
It all goes to their heads.
Black fire burns away a dream,
A paradox we're told:
No matter what the cost or pain,
Black fire dreams burn cold.
No matter what the cost or pain...
Black fire dreams we hold."
He laughed again at the unknowing looks the other beings gave him. At least until Priire spoke up.
"I know what it means," the green-eyed girl said quietly.
"What?" demanded the man.
"It's talking about the stars and love of them." She kept on going when she
saw they didn't understand. "The first stanza. In the first two lines when
it says the 'fire down inside of us,' it means the ache that all people have
to be among the stars and gather them like sand in your hands. And the last
two lines are about the black of space.
"The second stanza. The first two lines are about someone looking for a way
to get back into the stars after coming down out of them. Just thinking
about them makes you sad, you need to go to them. The last two lines are
speaking of the danger that the starry-eyed dreamers face.
"Third stanza. The stars leave an impression on you that can never be
erased. That's the first two lines. The next tow are mentioning a supernova
and likening the stars to it.
"Fourth stanza. The first two lines are like the last two of the second
stanza. And the last two lines of the fourth stanza is pretty much
self-explanatory.” The girl smiled. “I like the last stanza a lot. The
first two lines are pretty obvious. ‘Black fire’ refers to the stars again.
And the paradox is that no matter what happens we always go back to the
stars. Always.”
The smuggler looked at her, surprised. “That’s incredible.”
“Am I right?” Priire grinned, knowing she was.
“Yes.”
The ship she chose was large, well equipped, and had more weapons than any other ship on the route. She named it the Black Fire Dreamer.
