asking the fire to save the house
i'm building a small fire in my own palm
and asking everyone why they're running from the smoke
i tell myself the burn is just proof that i can still feel warmth
that if i turn my flesh into ash
there'll finally be nothing left for them to break
the voices in my head are wearing the faces of people i loved
they're standing in a ring around me
telling me my hands have always been too heavy to hold
and maybe they're right
maybe my body is just a house
burning from the inside
wondering why it can't stay warm
i want to show you how much it hurts to stay inside this skin
i want to run until my knees give out
until the dark feels like something other than an ending
i'm so tired of fighting the person in the mirror
so tired of asking my own heart
to find one more reason
please don't look away from me while i'm unraveling
i'm not trying to ruin everything i touch
i'm just a child lost in a room with no light
holding a match
waiting for someone to come
—lyra moon (the fire was never trying to destroy the house, it was trying to be seen inside it)
august 6, 2026