Hypnotized By A Flickering Flame.

My eyes are set in a dead blank stare 

on the flickering flame. 

It's a mesmerizing strobe light 

that reaches and licks the air 

and sweeps up for brief seconds 

to grab a hold of the dark. 

It's form hypnotizes me 

Everything starts to turn hazy

And the chitchatter 

not but feet away

becomes mere backup noise. 

The fire has become an orb;

the only thing separating me 

from my thoughts and real life. 

As paranoia burns in hot and steadily, 

spoken words are accompanied by 

unfamiliar laughing 

and chair creaking 

and winds whispering 

and leaves falling 

and shadows tiptoeing. 

Every sound seems to tickle my neck it's so close, 

forcing my ears to perk up from their daze.

But by spinning around to check my surroundings 

there is a switching of roles.

I am hit head on by the up-close talk

and the other noises are barely a whisper

streaming into a fantasy.

The hypnotization flashes before me 

and becomes reality of me sitting 

around a campfire

Still, unmoving

Quiet, silent

Thinking, pondering

Bent-minded, awe-struck

So awe-struck from the strange happenings

of such deep self actualization thoughts and 

such chilling world occurrences.

Reviews

[Karen]

I love campfires, watching flames dance and frolic about like dangerous children, enticing watchers to delve into their hypnotism as you have described so beautifully in this poem. I like how everything becomes background noise even as the poem captures each distraction so well ("unfamiliar laughter/and chair creaking/ and winds whispering/ and leaves falling/and shadows tiptoeing"... beautiful imagery!). But still, the narrator is enraptured by the flickering flame. Beautiful poem! Thank you for writing it and sharing it with us!

[mess of gorgeous chaos]

Wow, thank you so much!!!

[Sami Khalil]

A great observation in a great moment of hypnotism...Well penned and descriptive...:)

[mess of gorgeous chaos]

thank you very much :)

[Sami Khalil]

You are welcome...:)