Too Hot to Handle

I pull close to an ember that will not burn
Nor emit its heat for me
I’d cherish every spark it had
—Let it burn for eternity!

The fire beckoned invitingly
So beautiful, so pure
The fire that had the penchant to harm
Had also the nascence to cure…

And cure it did, this ember brave
It burned away my fears
But with all my haste and hunger abound
Didn’t feel its blistering spears…

Wracked with pain, I moan and writhe
I scarcely escaped alive
Its irresistible warmth lured me in—
What hope is left to survive?

As the fire burned down to its quiet end
And left this ember behind
My charred hand slowly closes over
And wills it to burn in my mind.