Dancing flames cracked
over oak logs in December.
The cold of the year
drew my hands close
to warm them
But not too close
to touch
Much that happened
(this year especially)
left a breeze as if outside,
missing a coat
But not even a sweater could
warm me inside with a heat
that I couldn’t bear to touch
Evelyn split with
her husband
to lie with me
a man who wasn’t
her husband
Wouldn’t it be funny if…
Evelyn didn’t finish
But I finished inside her,
and we burned the evidence
in a pit of fire
Evelyn asked if it’d be funny if…
I looked, but she didn’t finish.
I said it’d be funny if we watched
Her husband’s flesh burn
and separate from his bones
as the bedsheet waved
the flame, dancing tall
We’d never seen a sinner
burn, but we have now
We had seen what
we couldn’t unsee
An abusive man,
who can’t hurt
her again
Was more than
what it meant
even if you told
me pretty please
I’d change nothing
Much has happened this year
Still by the fireplace,
our story led to her divorce
Evelyn knew she had to leave
and so much has changed (this year).