As Flames Die

Campfires cling to blackened logs Their sparks illuminate intimacy otherwise hidden By encroaching darkness

A circle of implied closeness Created by the threat of shadow at their backs And the brilliant flames before them Shattered by adolescent games for control And not-so-subtle jockeying for attention As fleeting as their remaining time together

The beauty of their setting The peace that surrounds their camp Could feed their hungry souls More fully than their desperate greedy glances At the flesh revealed by the scanty clothing summer requires Could temper the lust that burns ever brighter Even as flames fade to coals But they are preoccupied by coming-of-age uncertainty Trapped between a primal desire for touch And the rules that have been drummed into their developing minds By our underdeveloped overprotective idea of society