she felt cool flames coiling

a bright blue flickering in her fist

& at their base a weighty blob

throbbed faintly there upon her palm


the lump swelled against her skin

only to deflate & rise again, rhythmically,

leaving behind blots of something

that oozed wet & dark like ink


up rose gold sparks from the fire

to nestle in her throat’s tender hollow,

a cluster of light that glowed yellow

& stung like she’d swallowed the molten sun


it’s just the heart of a child, said he,

fluttering like a bird, said she, and smiled.