firebrand

    when the stars come out
    and the moon waltzes alone
    peel back your blanket
    and tiptoe quietly out
    into the night

    do not tarry
    do not gaze
    up at the sky
    and admire a shooting star
    or a meteor shower

    (such pleasures can
    and will happen again)

    troop briskly across the plains
    run for six miles
    following the broken dirt road
    do not stop,
    not until you reach a mountain ablaze

    make your way
    up
         up
              up

    now, be careful!
    keep your balance
    as you peer down
    into the abyss

    feel the sweltering heat
    watch the rivers of liquid sun
    smell the toxic sulfur
    quick, dip a toe in
    but pull it out just before it burns

    lashes of fire will dance across your skin
    tasting the sweet sadness of your life
    with tongues of molten gold

    (it's okay;
    let them)

    do not shirk away from the pain
    instead, embrace it
    let it be forever burned into your memory
    and, should you ever forget
    simply trace a pas de deux
    across your scars

    if you listen closely
    you will hear malicious whispers
    emanating from this cauldron of deadly flames

    there!
    do you hear them?
    they sound curiously like yourself.
   
    here, i'll tell you
    what their steaming hisses mean:

    you're too emotional!
    too weak!
    too sensitive!
    too shy!
    too quiet!
    too strange!
    too sad!
    too alone!
    too fragile!
    too indecisive!
    too problematic!
    too much effort!

    for a moment
    you may find yourself unable to breathe
    or perhaps, you will realise that
    a trickle of rain has slid down your cheek

    you might be tempted to
    take a long bath in the lava
    to soak in its fiery heart
    and melt away into nothingness

    so step away.
   
    bear these memories in your mind
    and bar those voices from your ears
    make your way down the hill
    (careful, now!)
   
    run six miles
    troop briskly over the plains
    cut the corners of the dirt path
    or, alternatively

    take your time
    walk three miles
    until you reach six hills
    sit down in their shadow
    and wait for the sun to rise

    take pride in your scars
    not because they shine like halos
    in the soft morning light
    but because they show that
    you have faced your own worst critic
    and returned