The Voice of the Flame

Touch me if you dare
Hold me gently, see me burn
Dancing, ancient rhythms unfold
The element where energy and reality unravel
In the flame

Old as the oldest stars
Younger than the smallest child

my thirst dries the well it drinks of
my hunger ravages everything its fed
Yet I cleanse the water to quench thine thirst
And I cook the meat which sates your hunger
A blessing and a curse am I
Why do you love that which you hate?
Why do you destroy that which you need?
Why do your tears fall in joy
And your laughter in grief?

I am strange, the light that consumes
You are stranger, the dark that protects
Immortal souls trapped in bodies that decay
The things most precious are the things you throw away

I have eaten libraries of precious books
You have fed me buildings that embrace the sky
I will take these all and more
You are strange to me, you of the hands that heal and harm
The hearts that laugh and bleed
The mouths that lie and tell truth
The minds that have beauty and horrors untold
The dreams that turn nightmare so easily

You are stranger than I
More power, more fear, more hatred, more love
Touch me if you dare