“Origins”
Make it flammable,
make it orange
All the more beautiful
for the transience
When you pull back
the skin, hold it
over a candle.
Watch the flame.
Catch and still,
the reflection in the mirror.
The pulse of oxygen.
Remember that every
body is mostly star, could set fire
at any moment.
Hannah Kroonblawd has sailed the lakes of Minnesota, taught middle schoolers in China, and is currently an MFA candidate at Oregon State University. Her poems can be found in or are forthcoming from The Saint Paul Almanac, Rust+Moth, Bear Review, and The Chattahoochee Review.
