LET IT BURN
QUIET.

There comes a time
when anger stops asking to be heard.
It sits beneath the skin.
It waits in the breath.
It burns low.

I have shouted into silence
I have broken words on stone
I have told the same old sorrow
To a room that stayed unknown

Now the fire has no witness
Now the flame has learned my chest
It does not rise to entertain them
It does not leave me for the rest

Some rage becomes a shelter
Some pain becomes a line
Some things are not forgiven
They are carried over time

Let it burn quiet
Let it burn low
Some fires don’t die
They just learn where to go

Let it burn quiet
Under my skin
I won’t give them my ashes
I won’t let them in

I have wasted too much mercy
On the hands that came to take
I have dressed my hurt in patience
Till my bones began to ache

Now I keep the door half-open
Only for the ones who see
That a man can still be gentle
With a storm he does not free

There is no clean way through it
There is no perfect name
I have learned to live beside it
Without feeding it my flame

Let it burn quiet
Let it burn low
Some fires don’t die
They just learn where to go

Let it burn quiet
Under my skin
I won’t give them my ashes
I won’t let them in

No more speeches for the takers
No more proof laid at their feet
No more bleeding into questions
They were never meant to meet

If this fire keeps me honest
If this fire keeps me whole
Then it stays here in the darkness
Like a guard beside my soul

Let it burn!
Let it burn quiet!
Let it burn!
But not through me!

Let it burn quiet
Let it burn low
Some fires don’t die
They just learn where to go

Let it burn quiet
Under my skin
I won’t give them my ashes
I won’t let them in

Low flame
Slow breath
Old wound
Not dead

No witness
No light
Just fire
Held tight