someday soon i am going to catch on fire
not through any action of my own
not by smoking in bed
i’m too cheap to buy cigarettes
not by standing too close to an open flame
while wearing non-flame-retardant pajamas
not by standing beneath a giant magnifying glass
on a sunny day like some ant cooked by a bully
not even from some smoldering look you
carelessly toss my way
though that would be my preferred method
i think spontaneous combustion is nature’s way
of cleaning up its weeds
turning us into carbon-rich ash for a new
generation of green things without nettles
so i tell myself i won’t mind so much
when i finally smell the smoke
Words and Feathers 