The poem "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost is a metaphor for human perceptions of desires and hatred. The central idea of the poem is that the world would end in either fire or ice, and both are equally capable of ending the world completely. Fire symbolizes human desires, greed, and passion, while ice symbolizes coldness, hatred, and indifference towards one another. The poem suggests that both emotions, if left unchecked, have the capacity to destroy the world. The speaker believes that fire is the more likely world-ender of the two, but ice would also be great as a way of bringing about the end of the world. The poem highlights how human desires and hatred can lead to destruction and how love, equality, mutual understanding, and sympathy for one another can help establish peace and harmony.