In fire or Ice

Some say the world will end in fire, others warn of ice.

To bear witness of the eternal damaging flame, I have seen what fire does.

Could I choose the blinding light over the quiet cold? Light demands witness and desire leaves nothing untouched. It takes without permission. It prefers to consume the soft and the forbbiden. It names and exposes the parts of you that you wish remain hidden. If the world ends in fire, it would leave nothing to desire. It will be bright enough to be remembered and cruel enough to leave no place to hide. I stand where the stars collapsed into flame, where the planets tighten their grip and nothing would be spared.

I have burned long enough to know why I choose ice over fire. For feeling nothing adds nothing and asks nothing of me. I could drift where the planets collide and fly amongst the stars. I am where not even gravity can touch. I could make a home here, deep within the silence and the frost. This is where memory crystalizes and time freezes. I am not longer myself, just another speck of dust. If they universe forgets me here, I will not protest. I will end where the stillness begins.

B