Volcanic Glass (Variation)

The fire already happened What's left is smooth and black Light bends around the edges Of everything you can't take back The ground still warm beneath you The sky still full of ash But the violence is over now You're standing in the aftermath And it's quiet The way only aftermath is quiet Beautiful because it burned Beautiful because it broke Something had to come apart Before the glass could hold the smoke Volcanic glass — still warm, still sharp Still catching light from the dark You thought the transformation Would feel like being saved Instead it felt like cooling From the inside of a cave The fury left its fingerprints In ridges you can trace Not scars — just proof That something real was in this place And it's quiet The way only aftermath is quiet Beautiful because it burned Beautiful because it broke Something had to come apart Before the glass could hold the smoke Volcanic glass — still warm, still sharp Still catching light from the dark You didn't survive the fire You became what fire makes When it runs out of things to take Still warm Still sharp Still here