Too Close to the Fire

How did we get here?
This place so like the old one?
We are different somehow
Yet so many feelings are the same.
It is as if no time has passed,
While we grew older, and farther apart
We see each other as we were
Back when we really weren't seeing each other at all
Our eyes were full of stars in a rose-colored world
Everyone else was invisible
We heard only what we wanted to hear
Now our eyes and ears are painfully open
We've seen and heard the best and worst life has to offer
The easy thing to do is hide behind indifference
Pretend not to care what happens to us
And yet here we are
Still drawn to the flame that consumed and burned us
We both feel the heat it gives off
Both drawn for different reasons
One needing the comfort that warmth can bring
The other drawn by the brightness it brings to a dark world
One careless move, a small fall, a thoughtless action
One mistake can put us both in the ashes of a dead fire
2001