12 steps towards the top
Underneath the candles yellow drops

Lighting the way in a spiral fashion
The yellow flames burn with poise and passion

Shadows and reflections catch the eye
A beauty and grace that no man can defy

Gracefully she'll burn until end
Freeing herself to transcend

Sun knows not my skin
Sky sees not my face or hands
I am winter's glow.

We army crawl across the dirt and patches of dying grass.

Barely missing us, they passed.

Crawl to one smoldering, watching out for broken glass.

We thoroughly examine it.

The white of the missile contrasts against the dirt.

We hear their cackles.

I hear a familiar click.

I look up toward the deck.

Curiously, I watch a finger press the button of the bic.

From the corner of my eye, I see her mother's fingers flick.

Another missile heading our way.

"Watch out!" my cousin yells to make me alert.

But it was too late.

Why didn't I hear the familiar noise of it hitting the dirt?

I look down and see another cigarette burn a hole through my skirt.

I was too slow.

It was too quick.

Now my skirt is aglow.

Through her half-witted smile, smoke is blown.

I was only six,

They should have known.

(A friend once told me)
That the stars in the cosmos
Must have been aligned when the two of us came newly into this world.
The astrology up in the atmosphere
On the 28th of April
Saw you coming
And three years later
On the very same day
It said, We must make her a match.
Someone to fill the in-betweens of her fingers
And the empty spaces on the inside,
To brighten up her eyes
And the shine of her smile.
They won't find each other right away
But the magnetic pull of the universe
Will bring them together
Without a doubt.
And I was crafted from stardust and a celestial glow
And beamed down to earth
Fated to wander its surface
Until you came to stand in my path
And point me in a new direction
Hand safe in hand
And heart tethered to heart.