Fire Ceremony

Within the consuming flames, I am free.
Within the dancing flames of a candle, I am free.
The flames of the fire burn and disintegrate
the negativity, the self-sabotoge, the self-hate,
that reside within me.

Within the flames of the fire, I am free.
The smoke from the fire carries away
all my inhibitions, my doubts, my fears;
the wind whisks them away until
they evaporate into non-existence.

Within the ashes, I shall rise, cleansed,
like the phoenix, ready to soar
with a self-love I never knew before -
an open heart that I may forgive,
an open mind that I may live,
that I may cherish the present
and view the past as only that -
the past.
I no longer give the past
any power over me,
because I am taking that power back
into my possession.

My power is one thing
I will never again let go.

This is what I will carry with me
from the flames.

I am free.