Firework

You are a firework,

Deafening and pompous,

You fracture at the sight of stars,

Jealous of how they shine together,

Your explosion of dazzling deception,

Suffocating them behind a screen of smoke.

I want to crawl away,

To a house of safety,

Fireworks scare me – so loud and brash,

The crack of colour is gone now,

I still quiver like a terrified dog,

I gasp in your acrid breath.

My ears ring,

My heart gallops,

I see those wretched stars again – stoic,

I fracture, striking a new match,

Light the fuse – shooting you up,

Over my head, you explode again.

Yet…

You are a firework,

Loud and proud,

You wish you had the light of the stars,

So, you radiate even brighter,

In a stunning shower of brilliant sparks,

Each a jewel to be treasured.

I want to get closer,

Walking into your vivid world,

To slow time and bathe in your resonance,

To tremble through the shockwaves again,

Instead I feel goosebumps rise,

Gasping at the brilliance of it all.

My ears ring,

My heart gallops,

I see you again – staring back from the mirror,

My fractured self – our us,

I see myself – I see you,

We are a firework.

A/N: This is the first full piece to come out of my online writing club! I originally intended this to be a metaphor for abuse, but through chatting in real-time with other writing club members, I decided to change it to a metaphor for who we become during poor mental health episodes, with direct parallels to BPD.

I am very proud of this work. I believe that the writing club is helping me become a better prose-writer as the format demands time and feedback!

I hope you enjoyed this! See you soon!

-TWW