Beautiful I

I look best in the dim light

Face angles softened in waning contrast

Hair only seen where it should be

My body's silhouette, believable

corseted by the blur

I look best in the darkness,

actually

When it's easiest to use me as a repository for strange fantasy

The darkness,

where the infinite is unfolded

and everything is possible

even my beauty

as long as you crave it

I look best in the dim light,

I know

I look best in the darkness,

I know

But truly, I look best

in the flickering blue belly

of a flame

Not in the light of the fire, but in the fire itself

You should see it

Roasting in the name of God

or the pure, irresistible delight of disgust

Watch my curves emerge

as my body melts

into the hungry wood

at my feet

Finally, shoulders narrowing between my hips

as they both turn into ash

Every offending bump, clear cut

the angles of my writhing face

flattering

and impossible

and, achingly, hot

You can almost believe I'm a woman

by the way I scream

and then cease to exist.

and as the light dims

in an ever-contracting circle I can't escape

as I seep back into the darkness

my one regret

is that I could only be beautiful for you

for such a short

flicker

of time