When my kids and I hear this song on the car radio, my daughter often wonders aloud whether Alicia Keys wrote the song for "The Hunger Games." (Turns out that's not the case.)
But if my daughter were to turn and look at me during her speculations and if she could see through my sunglasses, she would notice tears welling. The more I hear the song, the more closely I listen to the lyrics, the more I think of my daughter.
Today she burns in another future-determining forensics competition, portraying a Holocaust rescuer and delivering extemporaneous speeches about international current events. She's nervous and excited and anxious to know the outcomes.
She fears that anything short of victory will extinguish what little flame she thinks she has to offer. But she doesn't see what her mom can see -- that she burns with such vibrant and majestic promise that a "loss" or even a victory will not dampen the slow-building blaze. She's just a girl, but she's on fire.
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Meanwhile, when my son hears the song, he usually wonders aloud, "Why doesn't she just stop singing and help the poor girl?"
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