Man on Fire

inspired by a photograph taken in 1963 on the first Vietnamese monk to set himself on fire.

The flames look white. 

Everything is white. 

The part of his face exposed to the camera glistens

Like he’s being bathed in sunlight.

The Monks around him are dressed in white too

Like angels waiting to greet him on the other side

One man stands in front of the rest

His face is hidden by smoke, but he wears the same white cloak

Perhaps he was one of the ones that doused the monk in gasoline

The monk is sitting with his legs crossed, like he’s meditating

Meditation makes you one with earth

And soon he will be, at least so I like to think

One man in the corner is walking away

Like he doesn’t notice the man on fire, or maybe he has more important things to do

Behind the man is the car, with its hood propped up

Like someone was just getting around to fixing it.