Once I danced like smoke in sunlight,

Now I burn—a blazing trail

of roaring red and bitter blue,

sparks leaping from my feet

with each reproachful step.

There was a time when I believed,

holding dreams like fireflies in a jar,

hopeful that I could set them free

and soar beyond these stark, white walls.

Along this unrelenting journey,

the jar shattered into countless shards,

and my precious fireflies took wing,

leaving me, the keeper of dreams, behind.

If desire were a simple flame,

I would be a wildfire uncontained;

and if anger and resentment were gasoline,

the world itself might burst into flames.

Now I blaze—a solitary flame

A ball of fire in human form,

burning in quiet defiance.

I once scribbled dreams in vibrant colors

in notebooks lined with hope,

sketching blueprints of a future

with a trembling hand and steady faith.

I dreamt of a home that echoed laughter

a tire swing and a picket fence.

and The golden glow of those dreams

shimmered like the captive fireflies,.

But they too have taken flight,

and i’ve grown too weary to chase the light.

Now, in my thirties and adrift,

In this turbulent sea known as life,

I wake to a gray hush,

counting minutes like silver coins

I’ll never have the chance to spend.

My body feels like a stranger.

My skull, like prison walls.

no clock to punch, no hand to hold,

only the distant hum of a world unknown

and the lingering ache of stillness.

I once believed the world awaited me;

now I suspect it barely noticed.

All the songs I longed to sing

lie hushed, out of tune.

and the instruments have gathered dust.

I breathe in, I breathe out—

oh, what I’d give

to truly live, to deeply love,

to blaze bright like the sun.

Yes, I am a wildfire,

raging through a universe of indifference,

a realm that I fear may never heed

this woman aflame,

burning ever so slowly,

ever so quietly,

to ash.