I keep the fire going
with sugar packets and gum wrappers
scrape the bottom of my purse
for goldfish crackers and crumpled tissues
a Starbucks napkin
a receipt for a swimsuit
I haven’t worn yet
I rip out the blank pages
from my spiral notebook
and feed them to the flames
silent people crowd the cold room
nodding at my notebook
too thin with straggling pages
they can’t help me
or don’t want to
but watch me struggle, scrabble for scraps
sticky lollipop sticks, ticket stubs
to that horrible show
that didn’t make me laugh
until there’s nothing left
nothing else to do but throw it in
my notebook
the words curling and darkening
fading into the satisfied smoke
