Mutiny

As she lit up in flames
My heart turned to ash
My world no longer filtered
The unsaid proved at last
Words caught in exhaled smoke
Stuck to my clothes
Hair
The back of my throat
Unable to breathe, unable to stop
Staring through the haze
Between her fingers
Caressing her mouth
Panic, her oxygen, removed and replaced
She sighs with relief
Blackened bits burn to the ground
She no longer my captain
I no longer her sailor
A stranger is left
Normal as the butt of a cigarette
The fumes have diffused
And the truth is left to simmer
It's up to me to choose:
Jump overboard
Or drop anchor