It does no good to mourn one candle
when its flame goes out;
nor to try to keep it lit
when its wax melts away.
It does no good to sit in darkness
thinking of past light;
nor to imagine some bright place
where bulbs go to retire.
Each source is only one of many;
when one flame expires,
you must tend to the others
if you would have light at all.
The memory of dead lights won’t fade,
if they were truly yours;
they burn somewhere for someone else
if they once burned at all.
But those lights that are left behind
will fade out, if ignored;
if you would truly fight the darkness,
feed what fires remain.
29 APR 2013
