driftwood

RC deWinter

i stay away from matches
candles
fireplaces without grates
any open flame or thing that sparks

i washed up on a rogue high tide
a sodden broken thing
left to bake on a deserted beach
in the harsh sun of neglect

that atomic cleansing sucked out
every bit of water from my flesh
leaving all the salt and other seaborne elements                                                                      

            embedded in my bones

now i am an ancient stick
so sere i cannot even cry
all my tears used up to create that sea
in which i bobbed directionless for years

and so i keep away from fire
lest an ember on an errant wind ignite me
what a spectacle i’d be
a chemical rainbow in saltwater flame

you know how driftwood burns