In old movies,
fire burns white.
Why, what a world that would be!
Each cold night, warmed
by flames that look like
silk. Pure as fresh snow and clean
as old bone. Apparently some
people think that there is an
order to all this,
an intention,
a destiny. But so many things
are needless for such a grand
scheme.
The kitty gravestones in the yard,
the little skeletons underneath.
The framed picture
of a little boy playing the harmonica.
The flowers on snow pants.
The blanket and bed
called boat on a carpet sea.
Shouting new year as
the line of midnight stretches out
over another swath of land.
Under destiny these things
would be discarded,
but in truth they turn the world.
It all turns, the ground and the
dark and the light.
This is what momentum does:
stick a person to the wall,
trapping them in
each passing moment, and they do pass, and
white silk streamers flutter by
like the waves of a lake.
Sophie-Lorraine Smith is an 18-year-old writer living in western Washington, USA. They are forever enamored with astronomy, language, cartoons, glitter, and cats.
"black and white fire ghost (2)" by fiveinchpixie is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
