Sometimes

Sometimes it burns and flames,

It has properties I struggle to understand,

Sometimes I think I can predict its patterns,

I can see where the next spark might land.

Sometimes it lies in blackened silence,

It is a blanket of soot and charcoal dust.

If only I could coax one last ember,

It only I can ignite what once was,

But knowing the laws of nature and man,

Means accepting that combustion needs fuel,

And fuel needs oxygen to burn,

And oxygen is the breathe of life,

Knowing life is a lesson that ignites and burns,

Like the embers that sizzle at the end of a fire