The Fires I Started

I could stand here in the dark
 Until they bring me a glass jar
 To catch the things I want to catch
 To keep a spider as a pet
 I could howl up at the moon
 Until the ending comes too soon
 For things I used to beg to fetch
 Things like you, my pet
 And they would all see my unserious desperation
 As my arms unfurl to retrieve words already spilled
 All the fires I ever started can't begin to warm me
 They all got away -- not one left a trace
 I will end here listening
 To the sound of my own breathing
 To my many accomplishments
 Though you never heard what I meant
 I will leave your memory
 To those who see you clearly
 I will not carve you into song
 I tell everyone's story wrong
 And they would all see my unserious desperation
 as my arms unfurl to retrieve words already spilled
 All the fires I ever started can't begin to warm me
 They all got away -- not one left a trace
 This is the song you forget in a day
 This is the love I threw away
 This is the choice you forget in a day
 This is the hope we threw away