Shadow

I've been waiting for someone to shed some light, To take my hand and lead me back Into the arms of the earth. I've been ankle-deep in frost-kissed puddles, Wishing for the welcome mat to sweep me In out of the rain, and into their flame. Are you the flame That I've been looking for? You make my head light In a way that isn't amatory, but in a way that makes me Wonder if calling it love would make you send me back From whence I came, and lick me into puddles Till I seep straight into the earth. You beckon me to your earth Like a lantern's flickering flame, But you're not burning out. You illuminate the puddles That used to be my oceans, battle my dark with your light. You gain ground until I am naked and taken aback, Because the exposure does not strip me Raw-- in fact, it envelopes me. We've got our feet planted firmly in the earth, Neither scaring easily nor asking for our words back. And I beg how long it's to last, this flame; Upon that subject, I squint away from the light Expecting you to tread through me like puddles, The way a child stomps on rainy street puddles, Finally turning on your heel to flee me. Through the trees overhead pokes a sweater sewn of light That soothes the permafrost into a softer earth When the sun's flame Strokes its back. Should I hold this back On the tip of my tongue, till the words form puddles In my mouth? Or would it be better that the flame Consume me? I could live out my years masked by earth Or brave the touch of light. I heave my hopes back with me, A dam oozing puddles, white-knuckling the earth. If I let go, will the flame leave me a shadow, or a light?