Poem: Napalm #the100dayproject Day 42

Napalm

We colonized nature before we colonized ourselves. 

Trapped fire in a cage to warm our cold bodies, 

to guide our blind eyes, silence our dumb mouths. 

We caught fire like a firefly in a jar, we didn’t leave 

any holes on the top to let it breathe. We kept it 

chained to a wick or stored on the tip of a match stick. 

We colonized fire and wonder why it bites back. 

Fire has teeth, a row of sharp revolts and revolutions, 

it feels like hot steam, burn slow and steady as embers. 

Let its smoke signal a new era where our mouths  

grow quiet in fear and fire grows lungs to bellow, 

to spit, growl and snarl its rage like a caged animal.  

Even the smallest flame is sharp like a knife’s edge, 

or understated like the smallest hollow tip bullet.  

It readies its warfare, and we only fight fire with fire.