““How often does it seem that I try to speak the words of not okay, of not alright, only to find they stick to my insides, digging down, burrowing hard within? So instead I wheeze and gasp and smile despite the burning up, the burning alive, oh - I look you in the eye and cry, the tears wetting my cheeks (I am blazing - can you see?) Ash coats my every organ, smoke plumes through my lips to form the lie: "I am fine.””
