The Poet's Flame
By Shariq Ansari

Am I poetic?
Or is my soul on fire?
I must contemplate...

Poetry burns me...
Perhaps my soul burns in rhyme?
I've found the answer!

I'm not poetic!
My soul is *set* afire
By the poet's rhyme!

Is she hunting me,
With her words that scorch my heart?
Perhaps I should flee...

No.

She does not hunt me!
She wishes to win my heart
With phrases of love...

Then perhaps I'll wait
'Till her pen is set aside
And the fire stops.

She'll visit my dream
And sing a song of winter
To cool my burned heart.

After that midnight
I'll see her never again
Left with fire and ice...