smother
the flame is exciting, the flame is warm.
a spark,
a new glow that’s enticing.
but it needs care.
it cannot survive on its own.
you learn to tend to it impulsively, ensure it hasn’t burnt out.
you learn to bend in ways you thought weren’t possible before.
crouching over, making yourself smaller, folding in on yourself,
until all your breath is given to the flame.
until you can’t even breathe.
until it suddenly goes out.
smothered.
attentiveness to the flame put it out and left you with ash filled memories.
soot coating each fold of your brain.
embers sparking out of your tear ducts as you mourn its loss.
your body altered from conforming to
something that wasn’t meant for you.
but as you untangle yourself,
now you glow. the weight of the flame lifted from your shoulders.
the fire burns from inside of you.
you choose to nurture that flame instead.
you realize
you can bend in ways that you couldn’t before
you gained a new perspective
not from the flame, but from your care for the flame.
a growth that heals you.
change is inevitable.
evolution is constant.
the flame was merely a catalyst.
and you realize the flame didn’t go out because of your care but rather it had simply run out of wick.
about_smother
produced and shot
by becca morency
edited and written
by becca morency
2_14_2025
hair, makeup and styling
by becca morency
smother_mp4
music credits_choke enough by oklou