kindling

by Isabella Martinez


they began:
   stark &      unbroken
 two sets of sneakers
burning blacktop
they pin back hair with navy
baseball caps borrowed from
their brothers
  wide skies of minnesota    tangerine runs
        through their fingers
    soaking their sneakers like gasoline
   with an accidental strike of a match
 two flickering chests light
parallel flashing:
silent.
remember the stretched circles home?
  how much love we found
    in a bus seat?
      how much yellow
    in a june afternoon?
the sun’s full curves graze the horizon
& there could be a long song
    about those kids
    those hips
    that sky & the lighting
    of a young fire


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