Pride


In defiance the smoldering fire brimmed
with red puffed lips,
wading through the dampness
of an unseasonable rain
like an invincible firestorm,
gasping for breadth
till its strength grew
weaker, and weaker,
with every passing minute.

Saddled with a deflating flatulence,
trapped in a cloud of petulance,
mocked by the cracking walls of opulence,
rocked by every pang of turbulence,
the fire became a house of pestilence.

And before it woke from its stupor,
it drowned in a watery grave
with ashes of regret.

2011.George MacLean Akurunwa