Love is like a flame but why
do they make it sound like the soft warm glow
of the vanilla scented candles you lit in the shape of a heart
when you tried to tell me she meant nothing
tried to tell me that it was a mistake
tried to tell me that your love burned hotter
than your betrayal ever would
you tried.
Tell me why I forgot the reason
my mother slapped me for playing with my dad’s lighter when I was four
Ripping it out of my hands,
“Don’t you know you could hurt yourself?”
Tell me why love is like a flame but never an inferno
Leaving behind a charcoal carcass of everything you worked so hard to build,
Filling my lungs with ashes I’ll choke on
long after you’ve gone
When I asked you what happened to us you told me you didn’t feel the spark anymore
It wasn’t until I burned every letter and photograph
Standing amidst the blackening and curling paper that I realized
love ends exactly how fire does.