Flame’s Caress

Bleary eyed buzzing thump

Head a swarm of burbling bugs

Pain recognized shoots across

Tears through brain down my spine

Dark and damp and cold is what I notice

Once the pain plateaus so far above

I crouch and grasp about

For what I don’t know

But some part of me does

A small box rough on a side

I grasp and pull against my chest

Rattling inside little sticks

I smile as I pull one out

Pressing it under thumb

Against strike pad

As I pull it across

My nose notices something important

Something crucial

Acrid and bright

Vaporous and heady

Alcohol

Denatured

And coating all of me

Light and pain is the last I recall