Facing the Fire

Your manhood

is no kept secret,
yet the man behind it
is seldom revealed.

Maybe only
a figment
of a rejected past
you still drool over—

If in fact
it is concealed,

From the inception
I saw your fire,
yet walked into
your naked flame.

If you can't
smell the smoke
that engulfs 

you,

logic says
deny the pain.

This dysfunction,
by will or nurture,
is peril

to escape.

If the yard
is burning,
Must one
enter the house

to
suffocate.

Copyright©2026 by Camille Caliscia Patrick