Flaming Memories Poem by Lesa MRK

I see wildfire,
Burning in your blue eyes,
Like rusty barrels exploding in the night.
And I am lost in a memory,
Of red flames blinding my sight.

I feel the haunting pain of tender scars,
Lingering in the place my skin has healed,
Of cracked flesh and singed hair,
And moist blisters that have peeled.

I touch my cheek to feel the mask of skin,
A sliver of a scar dividing my face.
The mirror gazes back at me,
As I stare at the ghost-white lace.

There was blood on my grey hat,
And part of my overcoat was burned away.
My mind attempts to push back those memories,
Of that dark, long ago day.

You stood over my trembling body,
An empty look clouding your face,
When you saw it was the woman you loved,
In your greatest enemy's place.

The smoke in your eyes, my blood staining your cheek,
Visions of fire, of burning blood-
I see them in dreams again and again.
Always recalling your look of pain,
As no one else could.

The memory of the smoking gun,
Clutched in your grey hand,
Of the aching voice leaving your lips,
As the flames melted my wedding band.

You walked away into the embers,
A blizzard of rage lost in your frown,
Ice blue eyes remain on my mind,
Sending fire through a freezing town.

Down by the docks tonight,
I'll dropp my scarf into the sea,
And watch the red cloth wash away,
And beg the flaming memories leave.

(Summer 1992)