A Sliver of the Sun

A sliver of the sun

Given life by wick and wax

Flickers in a darkened room,

So fragile in the winds that run

But leave behind no tracks.

A flame against the gathered gloom

Guides the spirits of the night

Toward a space where tales are spun

And woven, finding all the cracks

That haunt the human heart, but bright

The stories build and bloom

To block each new nocturnal fright.

 

With time, wax dripping, dripping down

Dims the sinking candlelight,

But as the sliver starts to drown

And heavy eyeballs lose their sight,

There falls a new protective gown

Of stories sown by fire’s gleam,

Which guards against the doldrums’ bite

And grants a hopeful dream.

As you might imagine, I started writing this poem by candlelight, during an evening when the electricity was out in my apartment. It offers an image of the lit candle as a glimmer of hope in dark surroundings, and that glimmer can keep the darkness at bay through the creative inspiration it gives as one reads or writes by its light. Even after the candle dims, the stories it revealed and inspired maintain that hope.