Eating Fire

Fingernails flaming,
makeup white as Japanese purity.
robes red as desire,
she performs,
eating fire, flame by flame.
swallowing its energy
making it her own.

You watch,
void,
dark,
hungry,
yearning for the courage
to do the same.

About this poem

I believe a lot of us think that people who do amazing things are extraordinary.  And they are, but not for the reasons we believe.

They are extraordinary because they began. They tried. They failed.  Trust me, they failed a lot. And even when they were discouraged, they tried again.

Persistence is the great fear killer. I learned this the hard way.

Tom