my stomach is set aflame
turned to ash and dust in a pit in my torso
its hot walls of nothing turning grey
until they collapse like burnt incense.
the thought of you
confuses me. i don’t know
if i am aflame with you
or simply fire
and i do not want to find out.
let me stay in the doorway
between here and hell forever
because my heat for you is too quick, too humid,
licking spools of heavy red, white with tension,
needles sting my numb hands as i wring and i wring and i wring,
twisting and turning knots in my neck as i try to answer you,
but i can’t. i’m scorched for the first time and i recoil.
i fear the flames, as they break me down, burn me to a crisp until all that is left is a pale, wrinkled sack of skin that heaves up and down with every pathetic breath it takes. look at me. look at me.