Friday, August 6, 2021

Passing the Torch


Passing the Torch


I shake the flame out of my matchstick;

(one flame dies so another can grow)

cup my hand around the candle’s burning wick.


Nothing about this process is quick.

(light one, expect others to follow)

Again, I shake the flame out of my matchstick,


discard it with a flick,

(travel light, shed unnecessary cargo)

cup my trembling hand around the candle’s wick


and listen to the clock tick-tick-tick.

(there’s no stopping time, I know, I know)

I shake and the flame goes out of my matchstick.


This is no magician’s trick --

(it’s a hard pill to swallow)

the cup of hand around the candle’s burning wick


is merely the arithmetic

of love caught and held in a minute glow.

And so I shake the flame out of my matchstick; 

cup my hand around the candle’s burning wick.



©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021


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