The Flame
My pipe
An air chuck and some hose that I had just found and cut
Black tape to hold it all together
This would be my first time smoking weed
Weed
That is what my new guardians called it
When I would sneak and follow them
As they came to this same shed and smoked it themselves
Life was good today
6th Grade
I now lived with some neighbors
The family selling
Everybody agreed
I needed
They had dirt bikes
They had horses
And they had money
As I brought the flame up to stoke my marijuana
I reflected just how I got here
We had snuck out the back
The 2nd door of our current living arrangements
A tin 4x 70, 2×2 framed, green and white trailer
Owned by our youngest sister’s father
Me and my little brother
Out to explore the wilderness
By explore
I mean to see just what we could get into
Under the cover of dark
In our trailer park
Being located in the country
In between Norfolk and Madison, Nebraska
Macie
This even the more adventurous
We were surrounded by fields
Which connected to farms
Which usually contained unlocked barns
These in dire need of our attention
Something about tonight
My stomach feeling a little nauseous
It was that
Or the fact that my mother added a can of cream of mushroom soup
To everything that she cooked
So
Before we set out on our mission
I told my brother that I had to go
Number 2
Take a dump
But
No fear
I had a plan
Previous research had given me all the things that I needed to know
Top of the hill
In the little red Toyota truck
It will be unlocked
Open the glovebox
A roll of 2 ply
Last trailer on the left
A new addition recently built
A doghouse attached to it
Perfect cover
No electricity
No light
Plus I distinctly remember
A 5-gallon bucket in the shed directly ahead
My utilities assembled
I did the deed
My brother stood guard
Task accomplished
A new dilemma created itself
What to do with the doo-doo?
The evidence
Lucky for us
My brother
In gathering my necessities
Had found a lighter in the glove box of the Toyota
That and a gas can from this shed
We figured should do the trick
We would burn it
Having been the cub scout of the family
I explained to him how this was a particular job
Requiring the special skills which
I had yet to teach him
Therefore
Stand back as
I proceed with the lesson
It was dangerous
I relayed to him
As I would pour out gas from the can
Lighting it with the lighter about mid-flow
The beauty and pure awesomeness of the flames lit up the night around us
The look of admiration and excitement that
I received from my brother
Each time I would
Just in time
Straighten out the can and stop the flow
Before the flames made their way back up and into the container
Had me brimming with confidence
This and his eagerness eventually won me over
So
I decided to let him give it a try
Under my watchful eye
And following my step by step instructions
Oh
He was a natural
Over and over
I was so proud
Tempting and daring fate I let him play
As I finished erasing the remaining details of this excursion
It happened so fast
The night was so much brighter!
I look over and I see
Fate had struck back
The gas can was completely ablaze
And my little brother was scared!
Quickly
I took action
Solution number one:
Take the can from him
Save my brother
Solution number two:
Throw the 2-gallon gas can
Now a ball of fire
Standing over 1 foot tall
Into the dog dish
The dog dish
Located right in front of the entrance to the doghouse
Which was attached to the addition
Which had just recently been built
Out of wood!
Talk about a flame.
