We spent hours witnessing the fall of leaves in autumn
The way they swayed away with the breeze
A bonfire in the moonlight and you by my side
I wish I would've wished for the time to freeze.
I never wanted to wave the final goodbye, you had me captivated
Instead, all I urged was us to lay on the ground, love and tease
And do nothing but gaze at the falling leaves
Feel the air in my hair and together breathe out all the grief.

And then there was evening.

The edge of our estate, a wire fence.  
We ducked under it, Cole's fat neck scraped,
he squealed.  
Older boys sniggered.  

Once buildings grew here,  
it now sprouted vegetation.  
We picked our way through.  
Here we built the world: a haven of ***** mattresses and wooden boards  
holding shaped rocks and bones found somewhere,  
that hint of death.  

Cain was bigger than the rest.  
He liked fire,  
pushed at the mattresses, unsettling dust.  
He picked up a stick and beat down the walls,  
eyes filled with that blaze.

Suddenly sticks flew,  
we thrashed with fury and rage and everything,
at our creation.
Soon our jigsaw walls were waste upon the ground.  
Then there was light.  
Cain's father, passed out, drunk,  
missed the silver lighter his son produced.  
Roaring flame which singed our nostril hairs,  
smelling bonfire for a week after.  

Cain's eyes saw everything.
We stood, in his image,
chests heaving, we looked at what was done.  

I was scolded when I returned home late with sooty skin,
and went to bed  
with tear tracks on red scrubbed cheeks.  

And there was morning.

The soft crisp of heat ever glowing in the air. The fire quickly heating the vicinity with a warm embrace.

I've never had the confidence to tell you how I truly feel.
As you look deep into that bonfire and let your shadow outcast your past.

I'm going to step in your shadow and say the words "I Love You" in hope just like your shadow these feelings will follow you for the rest of your life.

Just until the day, I have the courage to tell your heart directly.....

You started a bonfire.
Oh baby, all I see is red.
And as I dance sensually with the flames.
I can feel it.
My soul.
It’s in danger.

He was as bright as the sparks
dancing above the flames,
He burnt amidst the darkness,
Singeing those who were caught
In a trance,
He was mesmerising and magical,
Exciting and ephemeral.

I daren’t breathe, or,
I could ***** out his light.