The Glowing Lantern - Canto Iii

The eyes of the two men then raised and met,
   As they looked at each other in the night.
   The glowing of the lantern remained bright,
And their damp clothing no longer felt wet.

"Your efforts will soon begin to pay off,"
   Said the stranger, as he began to rise.
   He looked deep into the traveler’s eyes,
And suddenly cleared his throat with a cough.

"When I arrived here, you asked who I was,"
   Spoke the stranger to the man still seated.
   The lantern still kept the two men heated,
And the stranger stopped speaking with a pause.

"I did," said the seated man with a grin,
   As he extended his hand to his friend.
   With their discussion coming to an end,
The stranger stood rubbing his bearded chin.

He reached over and gave his hand a shake,
   Still not knowing what his reply might be.
He said, "I hope my advice you will take."

"For some twenty years from this given date,
   It shall be my image you will carry.
   Make your days more increasingly merry,
And free your heart from the burden of hate."

The old man took the lantern, and turning, 
   Waved goodbye to the young man on the porch.
   The glowing lantern that served as their torch,
Left with the old man, no longer burning.

© 2021

Copyright © | Year Posted 2022



Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Be the first to comment on this poem. Encourage this poet.

Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter
Hide Ad