Candles in the Dark

A kind face

Wise words

A firm, strong embrace for a friend who needs it.

A fear.

A fear of the past

Or the dark depths of your soul.

A monster whose presence only you feel.

A rage you alone must control

Because you let no one else see it.

Secret terrors that rear their ugly heads at night.

This monster hides in the dark.

You light a candle with the goodness you have inside you

But it lurks just outside the border

The circle of light feels small.

How much love can you give

When you think you have so little?

You feel so full of and lost in darkness.

What can a tiny flame protect you from?

But what you forget

Is how a flame can spread and grow.

You don't see the light you give to others.

With every kind smile,

Wise word,

Strong safe embrace,

Your candle gives its flame,

Its light

To the candle of another troubled heart.

Until your little flame is no longer just one light.

Now the light you have shared,

The people with whom you have shared it

Come out of the darkness

Where the monster lurks.

These candles in the dark surround you

Until your little circle of light

Matches that of the sun.

You can remember the darkness.

The monster within.

You know it may always lurk somewhere just outside.

But here,

Engulfed in the light you've shared

And protected by the love of those who care

The monster can't touch you.

Reviews

[Relic]

Secret terrors, the monster....this seems to allude to the last poem I reviewed. A traumatic event keeps the light present. The only seemingly safe place.

Your poems are pretty evocative and mysterious. They make me wonder. :)

[NotaRabbit19]

Thank you :) this poem was not originally intended to reference any other works of mine, but I can see where you would get that. It was written for a friend who expressed a fear of becoming someone angry and vile. A monster that my friend felt was constantly trying to take control.

[Relic]

That's scary. You're welcome.