The Flame

“The Flame”

Whether I am watching you, far afield,
And if my spirit hovers over yours, concealed,
Just leave me with the candles that you burn,
Convinced that, someday, I will return
To the flame that washes like sunny dew
From the door to the heavens, I now walk through.

I’ll be gone when you take my hand,
To the orchards of the blessed and the dammed.
What grows poison there? I will eat of such fruit
In a peacetime fair and absolute
Beyond the flame that you lay in my hand:
An embrace only you could ever understand.

Slumber waiting below the sacred headstone.
I never meant to leave you at my side, so alone.
Take these flowers, and make a wreath of red
One petal falling for each tear we once shed.
Say goodbye to the flame of my embrace,
While I try to kiss the tears from your face.

The skies of tomorrow will shine without me,
But know, my dear that I am free.
Weep not another day while I sail the shadows
Of my thousand lives and my thousand sorrows
With the flame of your heart in my soul and memory.
Just remember, darling, I am forever with thee.

© 2022 Marten Hoyle