Reflection

A fleeting glance back at the abyss

I have just escaped

The past that I have overcome

 

I feel a burning in my soul

The force inside me says to look ahead 

For the next challenge

Search for my oasis from the hells of this life

But something holds me here

It clings to me with silent strength

 

A moment of silence

 

The dreaded yet strangely inviting

flames lick at the backs of my ankles

and with a look of longing

toward the future

I turn...

and leap back

 

into the darkness