A Portrait in Flame

You killed the excitement out of me. You burnt me alive. Did you hear the screams—traveling across this rusty canvas of pain? Did you take a look at the ashes? So to bottle them, to wear as a necklace around your neck—the neck that I measured through my tender kisses. Did your eyes light up when you felt the ashes through your hands, the way mine did when I caressed your soul by taking your face in my hands? The breeze scattered the ashes, yet you didn't budge, because you wanted to feel it rub against your skin, to feel its taste in your mouth. Oh, you take pride in doing it, don't you? The ground turns red. The air toxic. Your eyes lose their spark, just like mine did when you lit that torch on my body. Your hands grab your throat; you gasp for air, to breathe. You curl up. Cough. Thrash your legs. The earth opens up. It's slowly pulling you in because it doesn't want you to die beside my ashes. But there is a scream—a loud scream of your name. Footsteps echo. You turn your eyes in their direction, in pain. Is that me running towards you? Trying to pull you out now, but the wind pushes me away. I lost my voice, but I can still utter your name. I look down at my ashes and then at you. I hold back a sob. I remember burning alive. I remember you standing across the flame with a lit torch that reflects in your eyes. You crouched down to get a better look at the agony in my eyes so that you could paint that later perfectly—to put it on the wall opposite your bed so you could stare at it every night before sleep. I remember the heat. The burns. The pain. The heartbreak. The earth stops pulling you in. I gasp. I run to you. Pull you out. Feel you. I look into your eyes, searching for something that I wish with my life is there. But no. "I hate you," you spit. I put my fingers through your hair. You wince, like the touch of mine hurts you. I smile. I pull back. I say, "I am letting you go." The wind carries me away. But I don’t lose my eyes on you. I sit down, cover my face with my hands, and cry for the whole eternity.