I Am a Burning Man

                There is something

Unbearably beautiful

In fire

Each tongue of flame a work of art

                Finer than the thinnest ribbon

Brighter than the hottest star

All the more enticing for being

U n t o u c h a b l e

But I have touched the fire

I have felt it burn

Because I could not bring myself to back away

                I

wanted

And by the time I realized

                What it was I longed for

It was too late

The fire was determined to make me beautiful, too.