she lights the match
it chases away the cold
that has taken up residence
in her heart
the flame devours the small
piece of wood
and burns her fingertips,
but she hardly notices the pain
she longs only for the warmth
she finds in the flames
because she is freezing to death
from the inside out
she is drawn to flame,
igniting everything she can
with matches
to chase away the frost
she stands close to her burning house
to try and melt the ice
because that’s all she wanted to do
in the first place
it’s not her fault
she couldn’t keep the flames
from igniting the floorboards;
fire is unpredictable
but she is standing too close to the flames
because her arm is burning;
the pain doesn’t bother her,
in fact, she finds it pleasant
she pulls the trigger
on a lighter
and lights stacks of paper
in the firepit in her new backyard
but she burns through the stacks
too quickly
and a new layer of ice forms
over the old
she has been freezing slowly for a year
but she can no longer stand it
so she closes the oven door behind her
and is finally warm
