A Slow Burn​

Issue 8

It’s a slow burn
I’m guilty of trying to light it
But didn’t notice when it caught hold
 
A slow burn
Deep in my core
Beginning to creep out
 
An occasional flare
Into my fingertips
Mimicking courage when I reach up to your face
It hollows out my legs
Allows me to step 3000 miles in a single gait
Bold, gigantic steps just to cower at your door
It turns me to lead while the butterflies swarm
 
It’s a slow burn
Caught in my throat
Imploring a warm exchange of lips
Urging a cordial exchange of heat
 
A slow burn
I can’t extinguish it
I wouldn’t want to try
 
I want to feed it
to itself, watch it grow
Want to know but not to pry
 
I want to drink and bathe
And lay in the cave
We’ve burned and hollowed out
 
How could we ever leave this place
This slowly burning space
 
It’s a slow burn
Can hardly bear the pangs
Of running from the fuel
 
A slow burn
Down the middle
Our pieces start to pry
 
A slow burn
Things I can’t give you
Nothing I wouldn’t try
 
A slow burn,
I’ll warm here
If I’m allowed nothing more
 
Douse me with your hands
I’m burning up inside

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NATALIE DEVANEY won 1st Place of the Poetry Writing Contest. She is a poet and musician from Homer, Alaska. She currently resides in her RV, traveling the US while raising her children. Inspiration has come from authors and creatives her whole life, as learning and enjoying books, poetry and music is a never ending journey of joy for her. Natalie's work tends to come from moments in life where emotions are too much to be contained and bubble out in some sort of prose or another, whether they be happy, contemplative, yearning, or painful and tender. Her work debuted in Empyrean Magazine in both print and online and can be found in Issue 4.

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