Vanities

All fires die

down

from embers to ash

retardant and uniform.

Our face and fingertips

warmed when close

once upon those times of

burning.

This glow, you know

attracts more than

the dark and cold that surround

our rituals.

Smoke follows beauty,

we all know 

while choking

back tears

it escapes and rises above

the flames.

The words were carried,

the intentions swallowed,

the time was wasted

watching and waiting

while warm

sparks blink.

Stoking and smoldering

somewhere inside

the pit 

we all knew these bridges

suspend more than belief. 

Painting by Nikolai Astrup, c. 1909 in Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.