The Burning House

By Shristi Singh

(The Pyre of Our Love)

I could smell the house burn into ashes,

Crackling flames and smoky swirls,

Dancing in the inferno of our shattered dreams,

Our memories haunting the scorched walls.

"Calm the fire down!" you panicked,

I heeded the warning sign,

In my eyes, a hint of silent cries.

I reassured you, it's just a dream,

When we wake, we'll be torn apart.

It was strange as you smiled,

Windows fogged with questions

"Did you actually love me?

Or was I just a waste of time"

My skin melted as you hugged me

I found peace ignoring the aching warmth on my feet.

In this fiery chaos, we sat on the bed,

Bathed in the warmth of our fading memories,

The heat caressing my skin with a gentle touch,

As the blaze consumed all that we used to be.

Your voice a symphony of destruction,

Yet, I craved its melody.

The flames licked at my swinging feet,

"It's over", You'd repeat,

Yet, in this moment of chaos and decay,

I found a strange sense of peace.

A dream within a dream, reality blurred,

As we clung to our flawed existence.

I longed for the safety of your arms,

Even as they became my pyre.

Afraid to face the cold truth waiting beyond,

For the fire held us captive in its fiery bonds.

To exist without the sound of your laughter,

To wake up from this dream of twisted fate,

Would be to confront a world devoid of US,

A barren landscape where love and loss conflate.

So, I choose to stay in this burning house,

Embracing the flames that consume us whole,

For being wrapped in the fires that screamed your name

is better than the fate of pain

The existence without YOU.

My love,

AT LEAST I'll be yours

as the fire of your memories wraps me whole

In the ashes of our shared existence,

I'll find a solace that warms my fractured soul.

At least in my dreams

I could love you whole,

Even if you pierce my soul…

By Shristi Singh