Phoenix

That first step was always the hardest;
standing back up among
all the remnants,
the ash, debris and loose ends that,
somehow,
managed to hang on
after the final spark
kicked
everything
off

and washed over him,
filled his breath with warm,
smoky air as it enveloped him,
like a womb of flame,
and rendered him back down
to the seeming innocent
he wished he
could be;
again.