AFTER THE FIRE

it burned bright and clear --
the rage and bluster
the breath from hell --
burned me at great heat,
turned my skin to blister
my hair to ash --
I am breathless,
lungs seared by the
blastfurnace air

though like a forest
when fire has turned it
to blackened waste,
I will find life 
creeping back,
and soon,
now I rest, consumed