(no subject)

[silentjack]

you found yourself in the
eyes of another
reflected back as fire
against a steel wall

you’ve grown like a weed,
taller, quieter, indistinct
from the surrounding field,
yet you stare down
another unwanted creature
and lust after it

he looks at you and sees
only one thing,
another stalk in another
pasture

a lightning strike, a
cascade of purple unfurling
in the damp sky

you feel a spark,
or two, and you’re
ensnared in blaze,
surrounding you, and
him, while you’re
locked on each other

the crisp crackling and
ultrahigh shrieking of
surrounding vegetation
doesn’t concern you,
this time: you are too busy
basking in a heat created
by something else,
not by him alone,
as he is powerless,
thinking it is meant
for you, when it’s really
the whole world on fire

the flames draw nearer;
the tiny hairs on your
spine singe, your birthmarks
shrinking from the licking
tongues of flame

the lust has trapped you,
has drawn an orange ring
around your fingers

the heat enters you, and you
engage in it
and you finally notice
you’re melting, helpless,
pleading

& I’m the only one with water.