Candles have a magic all their own. From the time before electricity and gas when they were the light in the darkness, they have come to symbolize so many things for us now, love, reverence, remembrance, hope. They are used in celebration, relaxation, meditation and probably a few other -ations that elude me now, not to mention their importance in romance and their supreme usefulness during a power cut. Candlelight has that mystical quality that is comforting and a little eerie at the same time, so lovely as the darkness covers us earlier, and the clouds blanket us from brightness. Here is an ode to the candle, a spooky little poem in the run up to Halloween.

Candle light

Blackness runs over walls and floor
Inking out the familiar
Candle light makes the darkness thicker
Shadows flicker, cluster closer
Like moths to the flame.
It gutters, sputters, this tiny fire
The responsibility it bears is too much
It must keep the monsters at bay
The unseen demons away, away.
Who knows what lurks
Beyond the glow
Watching the wax run, waiting as
Our little beacon diminishes
Just biding it’s time, waiting
For the flame
To go
Out.