Playing with Fire

Playing with Fire

A thousand match heads
In a pipe,
A neat idea
For boys
On the cusp of puberty,

Looking for
Excitement
Rebellion,
A shaking loose of the
Same old
Same old.

Toying with fire,
The hottest element of all.
Combining loud, bright, fear, and lawlessness.
Hotter even,
Than the sex
They dreamed about.

They headed for the park
Laughing,
Talking loud and big,
Anticipating
The thrill of loud noise
And
Startled bystanders.

But in the back seat
Of the old car.
Jostling all of those bits of sulfur
On his lap
Between two admiring friends,
Friction, spark,
Before the planned moment of surprise,
And the game was up.

We shake our heads
in disbelief
How could they be so foolish,

Yet we do it all the time,
Casually,
Boastfully even,
With fast cars,
High finance,
Extramarital affairs
And atomic bombs.

Giddy
With challenge and risk
Arrogant
Sure of our own skill
And judgment.

Thinking that we need
That extra
Juice of power and adrenalin
Right up to the moment
Of the premature
Blast.