The Refusal to Burn Out In The Poetic Voice of Cheri Borowiec

The poetry of Cheri Borowiec is defined by a refusal to stay "exiled to hell" ("The Phoenix", 2013). Across her work, there is a recurring movement from destruction to reclamation, forming a message that human suffering, no matter how self-inflicted, is merely a prelude to an inevitable rising. Through the imagery of fire, fortresses, and the holy trinity, Borowiec establishes a voice that is at once unflinchingly honest about the darkness and fiercely committed to the light.

The most striking commonality across the poems is the metaphor of fire, though it serves different functions in each. In "The Phoenix," fire is the ashes of your repeated self emulations, a tool of destruction that ironically proves the soul's immortality. Borowiec argues that "There is greatness in you NO MATTER how you try to destroy it," framing the Phoenix not as a choice, but as an inescapable gift. Conversely, in the poem "Man on Fire," fire is a social and psychological burden. The narrator observes a man screaming, "I need to set my hair on fire, will you help me?" while onlookers offer clinical detachment or a simple "Got a match?" Here, her voice takes on a sharper, more observational edge, contrasting the internal struggle of the "Phoenix" with the cold indifference of an external world that watches others burn.

In "Spring," the fire imagery evolves into "burnt offerings," shifting the focus from the act of burning to the state of what remains. This poem serves as the emotional resolution to the themes introduced in the others. While the first poem commands the subject to "accept it, live it," "Spring" describes the actualization of that command. The narrator moves from a state of being "silent and still... in the dark murky shadows" to a state that is "Complete / Integrated / Solid." Borowiec uses the metaphor of the "fortress" to describe the defensive isolation that often follows trauma, noting that "this woman no longer needs the strength of her fortress to be alive." It is only through "unlocking the door" and offering up those burnt offerings that the music can be heard again.

Ultimately, Borowiec’s message is one of integration. She suggests that wholeness is not the absence of shadows, but the reclamation of "missing pieces" from the darkness. By returning to the "light of life" and finding the "holy trinity" of the self, her subjects do not just survive; they "Take [their] place among the Masters of the Universe." Her voice serves as a guide for this transit, reminding the reader that while the "ashes" are real, the rebirth is "reborn" and "real," welcome and final.

Cheri Borowiec is a poet, artist, and entrepreneur who owns and operates The Cheese Box in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. A graduate of Northwestern University, she further developed her creative voice and focus on emotional truth through acting studies at The Ted Liss Workshop. Her poetry is marked by a visceral exploration of resilience and spiritual reclamation, often charting the journey from isolation toward a state of being "complete, integrated, and whole." Whether through her writing or her presence in the Lake Geneva community, Cheri’s work remains dedicated to the power of rediscovering light and truth within the shadows of experience.