Reader Poem by Donna Prinzmetal

Donna Prinzmetal wrote this poem in response to Elena Karina Byrne’s prompt, “Set Yourself on Fire.”

SET YOURSELF ON FIRE

As if you can hold a magnifying glass to your own synapses
As if you are an ant and the sun holds you hostage
As if lightening started in the gullet
As if you are a stick rubbed against someone you love
As if you don’t love him any more
As if the wind flurries your hair into ash
As if you could say goodbye even if you wanted to
As if you are a beached jellyfish drying in the heat
As if all your summers are hidden from you like secrets
As if the secrets won’t stop whispering among themselves
As if you could find what was lost in flame’s blue heart.
As if you could ever find what was lost

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