Little Matchstick Man

A Poem

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

He had matchstick hands
burning everything he touched, lighting up
everywhere, looking for
gasoline girls
leaving them burning
wondering if they had wanted to be set on fire
When I heard about the others
the ones who came after me
the other ones with scorch marks
I thought about your hands
how they seemed gentle
how you probably still think they are
Thought about the way you made me feel
like all that fire was…