Nothing is essential, you say,
And you set it on fire.

I bit my bottom lip so hard I tasted
Metallic rust and copper.
I thought of the summer where I tossed
Pennies into the wishing well,
Hearing the plops of my wishes reverberating
Into the empty calm.
That night you baked them into a cake
And stuck a single candle right in the middle.
(My wish came true)
I am a big girl now, much more older and mature
And big girls do not cry over the little things.

I tilt my head up to conceal traitorous tears
(They are mocking me)
And I look up at the burning sky.
Everything was alive.
The curling smoke of the fire caressed and
Danced with the wind, startling grey against
Rose and violet stained horizons.
I dream of faraway places.

I wordlessly watch the flames as
They devoured my pride and purity.
My tears have subsided.
From a distance I hear the
Songbirds chirping odes to the departure
Of an innocence that once existed.

The morning sun breaks through and
The world awakens.
I rise, dusting the ashes off of me,
(I cannot find my voice)
Hollow and empty.

You smile.