The heat of it

 

September 11, 2014

 

 

I kiss the air until my lips bleed,

And I can’t breathe the overheated sky

That scalds me with each breath I breathe

No smoldering from mere sunlight

But hot lava scorching everything I expose,

Leaving my tongue and fingers blistered,

And still I reach for more,

Grasping hot coals in the cup of my hands

Feeling them quiver against my fingers

And then against the tip of my tongue,

Making me ache all the more

For what I know only causes me pain,

And still I plunge headlong into the fiery plume

Knowing I can’t possibly survive,

Knowing it is the only way I can stay alive,

Knowing this kiss I kiss is all there is

And all there can ever be,

And this touch I touch incinerates me

From the inside out,

And like a fool I let it happen,

Beg for it to happen again

Kissing air that seals my lips closed like wax,

Breathing from a fiery sky a fire I can’t survive,

Touching molten lava until I have no fingers

Or toes or tongue, only the urge to press on,

Pushing myself into the deepest and hottest parts,

Aching with every bone for more,

To kiss even without lips to kiss with,

To breathe more deeply and feel every bit of it

Before I go up entirely in flames