Forest Fire.

I am darker now than I was before.
Skin slapped raw with wet hands.
I am redder too.These hand prints
weren't you, but ones like you. 

I swallow a little harder than I did before.
Mistrust oxidizes on me like rust,
orange flecks visible through blue green veins.

When you touch me I trust.
I trust, that you'll know I'm not
small and fragile.

No, I'm not gentle or demure.
I am a wild fire.
Alive and aflame.
Lines stutter, waving, curling
consuming, like this is a game.

But don't fuss.
This is a game of trust. 
Shoot me out of the sky like goose,
you send a hound to retrieve me,
package and keep me.

I am not released easily.
So don't you tease me
with your smile.

Save your kind eyes for another forest fire.