Arson

I set myself on fire

To save my neck

But not everything burns

Equally.

I gave kindling and matches

And yet the smell of roasting flesh

Was not enough.

I muzzled my mouth to muffle

The screams, stuffed cotton,

Glued my lips and sealed with

Duct tape.

No one brought water

As if the act

Might be a form of treason.

To watch was

A thrill to the senses.

The stench impossible to forget.

Yet I am not dead

Quite the way fire and fury

Tend to kill.

I set myself on fire

But I should warn you:

Parts of me were born fireproof.