WINNER OF THE TORRENTS OF SPRING PRIZE
HOW TO EXTINGUISH MATCHES
You push and pull and pinch the match
Thin, frail, completely unaware of the large
Scrape it feels on the rough, sandy
Side of the box. You try once. Nothing. A
Second time allows a flame to proceed.
You are mesmerised.
You cradle the flame, it won’t burn
You feel its warmth, its beautiful orange head haunts
You. On a summer’s day where
No wind has been, a gust turns the flame
Blue. Another blue flame appears. And
Another. The wood grows soft and the birds
Cry for you. The sky is a different shade of blue.
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