The Burn

5.27.06

Hot oil jumps out of the pan

and sears the nearby skin

in the shape of a sting ray

or an island nation

or long tailed sparrow

The epidermis curdles

and bundled nerve endings shoot messages

up the spine

A warning to attend to tasks at hand

and not those of the mind,

the injury was born of fantasy

wherein maidens circle the fire

of want with gypsy skirts

A cool water spray

then antiseptic balm applied forthwith

soothe the heated wound

And the blister forms a liquid cushion

as new skin forms beneath

But once it sloughs away

what's left is darker than before,

a shadow of desire

forever marking where the psyche's embers glow