October Fire

Fire and darkness.
Purify,
bring me to a
glowing ember place.
The slow divine fire burns
away my skin--
not toughening it but
rendering it unnecessary.
And then, my tendons
and muscles and organs
erupt in ribbons of electricity--
And even my bones eventually feed the blaze.
All that is left of me
is ash.

Fire is on the tip of everything---
The possibility of fire
is everywhere.
So when you no longer see me here,
know my Self is in the very air--
in the very spark that is
always
almost
already
here.

10/16/04