the smoke showed up before the sirens did

it moved low through  like it knew the streets
like it had been here before

fire doesn’t always start with heat
sometimes it starts with a name said wrong
or a door opened when it shouldn’t have been

they said it was an accident
they always do

but the flames climbed too deliberately
hugged the walls like they were remembering them
skipped what they didn’t want
took what they did

i watched from the edge of the lot
where the gravel turns to weeds

there was something in it
not inside the fire
but inside the shape of it

like a body trying to stand up

the hoses screamed
the men shouted
the sky turned that sick orange that doesn’t belong to sunset

and still
it lingered

not hungry anymore
just present

if you smell smoke tonight
check your shadows too

some fires don’t burn out
they just learn the map of you