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I concentrated,
Intently,
On her every word –
The blink of her eye,
The turn of her head,
And her hand touching
Her glorious hair.
And every sound she made
Floated joyously
Like tiny white feathers
That never landed –
Never attenuated –
Could never be lost.

She was embedded
Forever in my mind:
Never to be forgotten

But there came a moment
When I turned my head –
I know not why –
And I was consumed
By the mounting pyre.
The spectacle of wood
Stacked purposefully,
Rhythmically.
My stomach lurched,
I felt the heat and flame.
She called out my name.

I was someone else
She was eradicable.
She was unchangeable -

Save she had passed through the fire.



© Allen Ansell 2023