Faith beneath the flames

The fire set her world ablaze,

She cried for mercy, begged the flames to fade.

But they only rose, beyond her sight,

She stood frozen, knowing she'd burn in the night.

She prayed with all her might that one day she would be free,

But every night, the flames returned, burning bright.

They crept like whispers beneath the door,

A heat she’d known too many nights before.

His voice struck sparks against her spine,

A warning flare that never felt benign.

She learned to read the silence in the air,

The quiet moments that told her to beware.

Her heart, a quiet storm of fear and grace,

Held on to hope in the darkest place.

She moved like glass, afraid to break,

Afraid of all the storms he’d wake.

As her world burned and all was turned to ash,

Her mustard seed of faith endured the violent crash.

Though the flames devoured, and darkness prevailed,

Her spirit held steady, though her body had failed.

For every promise he made felt kind at first,

But sweetness with him always hid a thirst.

He drank her strength, her breath, her will,

Left her walking through fire standing still.

His warmth was a lie she craved to believe,

A fleeting calm she wished wouldn’t leave.

But embers smile before they bite,

And she bore the wounds he lit each night.

Still, somewhere beneath the suffocating smoke,

A fragile truth inside her finally spoke.

She was not born to be consumed,

Not meant to sleep in rooms that bloomed

With heat that blistered, heat that bled,

Heat that filled her nights with dread.

As the flames curled up her walls

She heard the faintest of hopeful calls.

A memory of air untouched by heat,

Of ground beneath her unburned feet.

So she gathered what strength the fire spared,

A single breath she’d long prepared.

A breath of courage, thin and weak,

But strong enough to help her speak.

Her voice trembled, soft as dying light,

Yet somehow stronger than the night.

She whispered truths she’d never dared,

Words that sparked because she cared

For the girl inside who still believed

She had worth the fire could not thieve.

And though the flames raged wild and fierce,

Though every step felt like it pierced,

Her heart pushed on through searing pain,

Through smoke that tried to claim her name.

And in the ashes, she found a spark,

Small, unnoticed, soft, and stark.

A piece of her the fire missed,

Untouched by heat, by flame unkissed.

She cupped it gently, held it tight,

A fragile lantern in the night.

And with it glowing in her hand,

She dared to dream she’d one day stand

Where fires couldn’t drag her down,

Where she no longer feared the sound

Of footsteps echoing in the hall,

Or shadows shifting on the wall.

For in her chest a truth remained.

The fire might scorch, but it could not claim

The final ember of her will,

The quiet part that whispered still

Of dawns unburned, of skies remade,

Of walking free beyond the flames.

And though her body trembled sore,

She crossed the threshold, burned no more.

The fire hissed, but could not chase

The girl who finally found her place.

Her world still smoldered, charred and torn,

But she walked forward reborn.