What Was Said

What was said
was in and of itself
unimportant:

there’s a pile of tinder
under every eardrum
waiting to spark.

So the curl of smoke
was to be expected,
the smolder should have been

no surprise…
except to the burning one,
who felt the searing at once

and (with no real say in the matter)
spread it out, letting it burn
out and away from its source.

“Scorched earth” — the words
have a ring to them.
A hot ring, a lovely ring

better than anything
anyone can say,
including what was said.