Phoenix Poem by Samuel Lutz

I'm afraid.
After all I've been through, all I've suffered I thought fear had long left me. But here it is come to greet me like and old friend. Like you.
I'm afraid.
Your standing here in my doorway, admiring my walls like they were built for your pleasure. As if they could be anything but last hope of a hard man.
I'm afraid.
Because when I look in your eyes I see fire. The same fire that raged inside me until it consumed everything. Fire, to a phoenix is death.
Im afraid.
I don't know if I'm strong enough to burn again. To bring your flame to the man that rose from the ashes. To fuel that fire with my soul.
I'm afraid.
Your hands trace the lines and scars of mine. I can feel the passionate pulse of my heart hammer the air, electric with expectation.
I'm afraid.
I can feel myself smolder, the flames lit and stoked without my consent. My passion igniting in a billion brilliant sparks of humanity.
I'm afraid.
My temperature rising I hold you against me. Your fire takes me, bright and hot. I give myself to it, then you whisper
'I'm afraid.'
Fire, to a phoenix is new life.
I'm not afraid.
I'm alive.
Living isn't about just surviving without being burned. It's about finding that one person you burn for. Then burning together. Bright, hot, and above all...Alive.