Fire

Fire

Burning,

Lashing

Unforgiving

Raging.

I want to leave

But I am

In the center of a circle

Of heat and destruction

Searing into me

Through me

Screaming

Screaming

Screaming

Trapped.

Nowhere to turn,

Licking at my skin

Why am I naked?

Where did my clothes go?

I don't know.

This pit

This rock

Of fear

Of anxiety

Can't force it away.

Can't release it.

Oh god, it's the fire.

It's in me

Devouring me from the inside out.

The circle expands from within

Compresses from without

I am not lucky enough to become ash.

I will suffer one of Dante's ghoulish fates.

I will burn for all eternity.

It is penance for what I deserve.

It is my inability to leave.

I sink to my knees and surrender to an endless fate.