Fire

I held my breath, but I breathed in the smoke regardless
of my room as it burned.
It filled my lungs and I was done,
and I slept.

I saw the line between sleeping and death.
As I stepped over it, a small voice said, "don't be afraid,"
and a choice was made.
and I dream of an auditorium surrounding me.
A thousand eyes, a thousand hands held up the sky.
And I believe I heard their voices in my mind say,
"don't be sad; it's just your time go.
Make a ladder of your spine,
let every rung be stepped and climbed.
Make hummingbirds from your insides,
and let your face turn into vines,
and let your teeth and bones rewind.
But realize, now, realize
that you were only walking light,
and let it go back down
and shine on everybody that you loved when you were alive."

And so Eli,
would you wait for me,
even if I was removed from our time and died?
Well don't cry, 'cause it's only the last part of life,
and i'm still by your side.
And it will happen to you like it happened to me,
and the rest of the people we know.
Like the summers all end and trees lose their leaves,
and the water turns back into snow.
Every grandmother, grandfather, particle--
we're all here for a while then we go,
living for love and love alone.

And you will be with those angels in disguises,
cleverly holding their hands over your eyes
to make from your nightmares the nighttime.
And you will believe a thousand days before you die, maybe 999--
you'll feel the numbers' slow decline,
but, everybody, it's alright 'cause you can't argue with the sky.
You can't argue with fire.