040: fire.

There are nights when, before I leave the room,

I halt in front of the mirror                  and stare

into my face.

I’ve been thinking, that day, about stories—

about faces, persons, souls.

I ask—

If I had that chance, one in a million years—

if I had greatness thrust upon me—

would I act with the courage

that I feel in the pages of stories?

           

I seek that glimmer—that fire—

in my own quiet face.

Some nights it’s there.

Some nights I see nothing but emptiness.

Odds are, I’ll never be anything.

Still,

             

                 I beg

                                     that fire

                                                                  to stay.

- - - - - -

“At some point, you have to stop running

and turn around and face whoever wants you dead.

The hard thing is finding the courage to do it.”

            -Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire