the day i discovered fire

and the whole world was asleep when the fire started.

here, in my heart. here, in my journal. here, on my blog. here, in the middle of the night when nobody was even listening. not my wife, my students, my twitter followers, my daughter. nobody. 

the fire was burning before any of them. 

they woke up and only saw the smoke. they coughed and cried and stared and roasted marshmallows. but my eyes were the only eyes that burned. my hair was the only hair that smelled of smoke. and the ashes on my hands. you could never see the ashes on my hands.

but no, you've been there for it all, you said. you bought the matches, you subscribed to the newspaper, you even have a little ash on your hands. you tried to tell me that you were the one who discovered fire. 

but you didn't discover fire. i did. 

i found it burning inside my chest when i was a little boy. before my parents split up and before the dog bit me. i tried to show everyone i knew, but it was too bright. i tried to tell them about it, but it was too loud. i tried to get them to feel it, but it was too hot. it was always too hot.

i've been melting people since the 80's. and i ain't about to stop now.