All around - fire
licking the open wounds of hundred year old aged wood
scraped and scratched
with fingernails carving a way out
beyond the box we've created.
Seeking a one inch hole to breathe -
fresh oxygen to keep us alive
but merely feeding the heat
asking for more, growing higher
into the soot covered ceiling.
Burning flesh to medicate,
to cleanse and clear
past mistakes played over and over in the mind.
Let the flames eat me up with him
so I have no one to blame. I will pray for more than
charred skin this time
since he won't put down the bottle again.
