Unseen Flames

There are many ways
to burn
I choose to sizzle
for love
until all that is left of me 
is a pile of cinders
still smouldering
with feelings 
not even your indifference
can douse

My skin is singed
where you touched it
your fingers left a blazing trail 
where they caressed me
Your eyes seared my heart
with your brand
I carry long after 
you gave up ownership

My memories are scorched
with your face
scalded by longing
charring me slowly
until I fear there will 
not even be ashes left
to mark my existence

Though I constantly 
fan the hope
of the fire 
eating itself dry
an errant thought 
is the match
igniting a hidden spark
sending flickering embers 
roaring again

And yet — I fail to fathom 
even as I am consumed 
by passion’s inferno — 
why the flames enveloping me
are invisible to the world

© 2015 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved