some deserve my silence by Linda M. Crate

some deserve my silence 

daughter of the moon

and the sun

i shine intensely 

flames hotter than blue light

dancing on the paper mache of 

the celestial mouth

of night,

and a part of me

gleaming in each and every star;

i guess i am too much

for some to handle

because no one ever says goodbye

they just disappear

without farewell—

i used to mourn this until i realized

that even as intense as i am

i cannot help but be the person i am meant to be,

and i won't apologize for that anymore;

those who seek me will be a part of my tribe

or i will disappear like a moon deciding not to show up

in the night's sky

because i only deserve the people who love me

the others don't need my words—

i will feed them my silence

because it's a greater kindness than allowing them

the serrated edge of my flames

which would thrust them into oblivion's edge. 

BIO: Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh yet raised in the rural town of Conneautville. Her poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has three published chapbooks A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press - June 2013), Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon - January 2014), and If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications, August 2016). Her fantasy novel Blood & Magic was published in March 2015. The second novel of this series Dragons & Magic was published in October 2015. The third of the seven book series Centaurs & Magic was published November 2016. Her novel Corvids & Magic was published March 2017.