A Known Fire

A short poem about anger.

Photo by Dương Nhân

A known fire boils my restlessness.

It hurts to remove me from the heat of my burner,
But I have to cry…
Just close my eyes.

All rise.

The flood gates open,
I tilt my head down to cover myself,
Ashamed —
I need to escape this fate of heavy weight.

Look away.

I’d punch through a wall if I could,
Nightmare’s made of nothing,
Understood?
So, I look around the room,

I’d release it all if I could.

I stay in this wooden chair,
Flowers across the room glare into my black holes,
But I don’t move,
I listen to what the fire says as it flows through.

I breathe inside the smoke,
Let it go —
Let it go —
Let it go —

Angered blood pumps to and fro,
Down to my buried toes,
A faint new cold, purple glow.