Like the wisps of a fire
You claw for the stars
Slashing the air
Reaching a little too far
You feel fierce warmth
A burning light
Dancing red and hot
Into the night
But such fiery intent
You cannot sustain
Even so
It’s hard to refrain
As perseverance is key
They all say
Keep on, hold your focus
There is no time to play
But when your world is burning
There is a time
Where you cannot persist
Even if you are ‘fine’
That point where
There is no more flame
Just smoke and stillness
And with it, the blame
But would we accuse the wind
For moving the trees?
Or the water
For unsettling the seas?
Like the elements
You are sometimes a force
Other times more feeble
With less agency than you thought
Listen to the whispers
Arising from your core
So later you won’t need to
Hear your body roar
But if you burn out
Just remember
The rain will wash the ash
Nothing is forever
You will reignite
This time Instead of a burn
A slow glow
And on this scorched earth
Life can re-grow
by Jenna Pfeifer
