kerosene

more than once 

you were hospitalized 

because of it 

pretty common, i hear

during the navy years 

those chemicals and paints 

used on the trawlers

the last time 

you laid on the beach

drank saltwater 

flushed your system

it poured from your pores 

you held my hand so tightly

some kind of desperate effort 

i swear

had i lit a match 

you'd have exploded