I am the gentle phoenix who seeks rebirth
I watch the flames lick over the rooftops of my sisters
and my brothers, those not crafted from fire and fuel
Red and black.
​​​​​​​
Unintended to face the heat of its breath,
It's indiscriminate wrath
I choke on the smell of flesh, and bones
The beams on which I roosted crash against the ground
My bed, carefully crafted by dextrous hands
Glows, crumbles to dust

I cannot shed a tear like my keepers in final moments past
I cannot scream in their tongue
Understand their final words
But I am used to the ash of my birth, the embers of my nest
My feathers shine brightly, fed by the flames
I burn with this house and this house burns with me

I am the sinful phoenix who seeks to forget
God, in the ashes that surround me
Have mercy to grant me the ignorance of youth?


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