They say that if you play
with fire
you’re going to get burned
So I pulled down the box of
250 Strike Anywheres.
Well actually I didn’t start
out
wanting to play with fire
I was just lighting a vanilla
candle.
But now there is a dusty
layer of haze hanging out
above the kitchen light.
Some of the charred matches
have lost
their heads
Some are charred little
question marks
laying on the counter in
front of me.
Defeated.
It was not I that got burned
It was them.
They might be “strike
anywheres”
but the box works best.
Well, second best.
Fire begets fire
And light begets light.
Carefully listening to the
nerve endings
in my inquisitive fingertips,
I quickly
blow out the flame and watch.
Hints and whispers of silver
hair
smokes, curls, winds its way
up
to the light.
It pretends to be a river, a
tornado,
a sound wave, a tiny black
hole
off on its way to tell a
story
to the smoke alarm.
