facing my fears

How to Love Fire

First, tell a man you hardly know
how you lie in the dark,
listening
to the hiss and spit of flames in your walls.

Let him stop you,
drop to the floor,
roll with you to a safer room.

Do not fear what is hot to the touch.

Look up fire in the dictionary,
it’s etymology, its other uses.

Swallow it whole.

Discover fire is no more than chemistry.
The body remembers chemistry:
the soft flames,
the darting tongue
the searing that cooks from within.

Embrace rapid oxidation, combustion.
Observe your own release of heat and light,
chart your reaction time.

Allow conflagration to loll on your tongue,
wildfire
          arson
                  firestorm.
Let pyromania pass your lips,
see how it does not destroy.

Believe the man in the dark helmet
wielding an axe,
when he says fire
is only a hazard
when the blaze is out of control.

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i am writing a poem-a-day in november…some will make it here, some will never leave the pages of my journal.  writing every day after going a long stretch without writing anything is like, well, like having sex after a long time having none.  it makes me say, wow!  why don’t i do this more often?

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