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I See the Fire

Every time I close my eyes, I see the fire
That aches where you burned me last
I am a woman of the earth and the cool soil
Where life ferments and earthworms roam
I can't survive the lava that pulses beneath
The crust of this beautiful land
Yellow dandelions piercing the grass
Emerald pockmarked with gold
I wish sometimes that I wasn't a woman of the earth
I wish that I were stronger
I wish that my bones were made of steel
And my heart of flame
So that I wouldn't fall apart at every
Crude remark, every
Light tug, every
Covert attack
That rolls off the back of a fire-woman
Instead, my skin is transluscent 
Like the morning dew 
My muscles pieced together
With tree sap and mushrooms
What's an earth-woman to do
In a world engulfed by fire?
But root herself firmly to one place
Grow a network of twisting underground limbs
And create a stable home
To escape the chaos of this world




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