Ash In Your Lungs

Ash In Your Lungs

If I turn to ash
you breathe it in
every scar you gave me
settles under your skin

You laughed when I coughed
on your smoke
said “if you can’t breathe, just move”
turned my panic into a joke
rolled your eyes
like you had something to prove

You tossed matches in crowded rooms
pointed at me
when the alarms screamed loud
watched me drag kids through the heat
while you played to the crowd

You called yourself fireproof
strutting through sparks
in stolen boots
used my sweat to dampen the heat
while you severed the roots

Every time I begged you to slow down
you poured gas on the line
said “if we burn, that is on you
you should have warned me in time”

I did
you grinned
you lit it again
now all I have left to give you
is the end

I am standing in your storage unit
with a lighter and a list
every dirty secret boxed up
every victim you kissed
and dismissed

Could walk away
let it rot
pretend I believe you will change
or drop one spark
and watch the whole picture rearrange

This is the moment
where nice people leave
and let the devil walk free
but I am no saint
not after what you did to me

If I scorch my own future
just to burn down the rest
that is the last favor I do
put it to the test

You used to say
I was stuck
that I needed your fire to survive

Look around
when the air turns thick
that taste in your lungs
is me
eating you alive