Request by Guest and Lil'OldNarcissisticMe

(The Art of Burning)

He burns

Anger and hatred

Sadness and longing

Life is not fair

The universe is not perfect

He feels like these lessons

Have etched their way into his skin

Right in the center of his chest

.

He burns with a fire that will destroy him

He drowns

In the world he knows

Before fathers, and brothers

And days sailing

With nothing but adventure

And blue skies

To look forward to

He's not the only one that started off bad

Not the first

Nor the last

Not even the worst

.

But all the same, he drowns

.

He survives

Against all odds

Just the same as his new father

And brothers

Life has thrown everything it has

Yet he perseveres

He may not be living quite yet

But he's sure it won't take long

.

He will survive

.

He thinks

While he eats

On the terrible fruit

It tastes like ash

He feels like he's dying

And being born

And seeing for the first time

And drowning

And flying

All at once

It's a beautiful, terrible, frightening feeling

.

He thinks (and eats) some more

.

He falls

Every time

He tries to stretch the wings

He can practically feel in his fingers

Out, out

So that feathers of burning blue

Can touch the air,

He just falls

.

Only to try again, and fall a little slower this time

.

He fights

He fights for himself

Like any pirate would

And he fights for his father

Like any son would

Ripping and tearing

Scorching and punching his enemies

Until there's nothing left but ash

And he is the only one to remember

Their sins against him

(Or worse, his father)

.

And so he fights

.

He soars

Wings come easy now

Blue against blue skies

Or the gray storm of battle

He watches from the skies

Content with the world he now knows

Seeing brothers walk about below

The entirety of his life

Is stretched out

On one ship

In one ocean

He could fly by

Without ever noticing

(But that's not the point)

He watches his family from the clouds

.

He's free when he soars

.

He burns

He heals, and live, and dies, and is born again

All together, all at once,

Burning with life

His gratitude for the man

Who showed him what life can be

It's etched into his skin

Right in the center of his chest

.

He may drown,

But his brothers will save him

He will survive,

And live a little too

He thinks

It couldn't be better

He falls

But not often, and not for long

He fights

Fiercer, with more reason than ever

He soars

Freedom is his, and his to share

.

And he burns with a fire so bright

He will always rise again