Scorched earth poem by Andy Derryberry

i stand in a burned and smoldering
40 acre field

a field of ruination by my own hand

i played with the matches carelessly

and brilliant beautiful flame of pale blue

flared into a conflagration that left me

scorched with regret and

solitary in this field of smoke

now all i see is what was before

what is gone and will be nevermore

was it real or imagined

or only a phantom

i lost the time to know

because i was careless

and now the only sensation i have

is that of the heart pounding in my chest

and the pulse surging through my veins

and so i am alive and maybe

given the time to nurture a field

and perhaps time to forgive myself for

burning this one