Fire

My bones are burning,
The smoke whispering secrets
That begin seeping through the pores of my skin
And buzz around me like electricity.

The caverns that cage my insides
Echo, begging me not to shrink
For anything or anyone.

I let these bits of me speak
Let them rattle me, nerves set ablaze
Because I feel the fortune of
A body so alive, so resilient.

I am thankful for my chest,
Tight with anxiety

My gut, wrenched to tell me
When I’m in a situation I shouldn’t be.

Feet that will run without my command
When they know I must go.

My soul will escape my head,
Only to pull me upward towards the sun
So that I may remember
I am not bound to where I am.

My heart crawls up my throat
And teaches my tongue how to speak for it.
Snappy, quick responses meant to evoke
Emotion.

Without apology.

My hair follicles tingle with warning,
Letting me know when I’m being complacent,
When I’m wrong.

When I breathe, I breathe deep and I ask my insides
How we’re doing today.
My lungs don’t always exhale the answers I want.

My bones are burning
With a pleasant pain
That awakens me to the bigger fight
I am a part of now

I am thankful to have a body that is ready for battle,
Strong thighs, sturdy to hold me up,
Poised in position.

My liver is made of steel
That takes the punch of a hard day
And a stomach like a trap that refuses to purge
My poisons… forcing me to stick to my decisions.

I am alive
Fueled with hot rage
boiling over my ovaries
Screaming “I am woman”

I have fingers that race across these keys,
Able to keep up with my scattered thoughts
as I attempt to connect to the outside world

And my eyes are amazed yet again at the verbal slaughtering
My fingers are capable of when
My mouth fails to operate.

There is a fire inside of me
And I will burn you down.

By Alison Burdick-Evenson

Originally published at obviweretheladies.com on July 20, 2016.