Pyro Sapien

I saw a boy on fire today.

It
surprised
me.
I couldn’t look away from him
with his skin
so blackened and shriveled
till it stretched
tight
across his brutal cheekbones;
His teeth
so awe-somely white
where his lips had been
Burned
away,
leaving behind
a never-ending grin.
His hair was gone,
leaving bright, wicked
flames shooting from his
every pore,
turning him into
a
Pyro-Sapien.

I leaned over
to touch his shoulder,
to brush off the ashes there,
leaving symmetrical
cigarette burns on his
too-huge white shirt.

And then, the fire
was gone.
He was still thin,
still bald, but
his mouth was flattened
to a wounded sneer,
his shirt clear of
little black holes.

I pulled my hand
back quickly
and the bell pierced
the smoke around me.

I followed him,
just to see if

it would happen again.

But,
during lunch,
when I looked out the
big, fogged windows leading
to the tiny courtyard
with the gum-covered stone benches,

I saw him slouching
there.
he had a lighter in
one dark, long-fingered hand
and he was just
flicking the cap
UP & down
over and over
letting the miniature spark inside
Light his dim eyes with
something more than
insolent rebellion.

He brought the flame
close to his lips, and

Swallowed it,
with a vague
smile.

I saw a boy on fire today…