Obsessing Over Fire
I am running out
of viable means
for
fire.
What if the lights
go out?
The Zippo is
dry…and I have
misplaced its
fuel tin
(That says something
right there…
losing something
which could consume
this house with the drop
of one careless match.)
What if the lights
go out?
I have shaken
the disposable
lighter
into dry
frustrating
unproductive
flinty sparklings
(If I were on
acid I would
find God
musing among
the brief fiery
technicolors.)
What if the lights
go out?
I cannot locate
the 50 books
of paper matches
I recently
purchased
(I hope I find
the Zippo fuel tin
before these
matchbooks do.
Matchbooks
are allies
of chaos.)
What if the lights
go out?
I have a few
wooden stove
matches
and
a pack
of bamboo
skewers
I can light
with the stove
burner
(Praise be the
remaining burner
which still
magically
lights itself
without
cursing
incantation.)
What if the lights
go out?
I am contemplating
reserving two dry
sturdy sticks and
a tinder pile.
What if the lights
go out?
My lover packed off
all of the candles
when she left
for new apartment
horizons.
What if the lights
go out?
You…are
compromising
the viability
of the remaining
few slivers
of your
mind…
It would appear
so.
What if the lights
go out?