A Brain, a Heart, a Home, the Nerve

A Brain, a Heart, a Home, the Nerve

Out of nowhere, we’re human,
and some need burns in us.
How do we find the fire,
and how do we know

to keep feeding it, to protect it.
Maybe we have many fires,
and only so much kindling,
so some flames flatten,

barely blackening what they used
to burn. How do we know
what we’re good at, is it
only that we are told

by others, or that our bodies obey
certain fires with movement.
There is fear around
our strongest fires,

that they will subside or wander
away, we will be forced
to refer to them as an
old flame, not ours

any longer. Or fear that the fire
in us will never match the
mountainous blaze so
surely in others.

Add to it anyway. Give it what
it wants. If it ever goes out,
so what. Find a new place
that can hold a flame.