The Furnace Swap He To You Poem by *Tony Cemaluk Egbuonu

You mistook my embers for laughter.
Watched me burn from a cold distance
and called it fun.

Before the furnace, there were mountains.
I moved them.
No hoe. No hammer. No hands but mine.
Monuments rose from silence.

Then the fire came.
Unusual. Unforgiving.
And I wore it like skin.
And I wore it till it named me.

Now the heat has teeth.
And I am tired of bleeding alone.

So here.
Take it.
Take the furnace.
Take the weight I carried when you were clapping from the sidelines.

You wanted the sight.
You wanted the name.
You wanted the crown without the crucible.

Now crucible is yours.
Step in.
Feel what it costs to build mountains
while the world burns your feet.

You sighted it.
You yearned it.
You sought it.

So carry it.
And set me free from this fury
that you called glory.