Each time I see her face, there is a spark of immense desire
The flame dances in the wind of despair
My heart feels like it is being set on a ceremonial marriage pyre
Oh but his heart does not need to be in a state of repair
The external pack sees his happiness as a cause of joy
Each step he takes they applaud his actions and give him praise
Others may see it as a thought to destroy
To him it is the opportunity to go through the phase
A kiss from the flame is done through words and actions
The dancing flame shows his passion
He knows that her heart is not in other factions
During one night of stress, she gave him compassion
As he dreams to one day hold her in his arms
He promises to protect her from all harms
Witchcraft in the light,
Pulls the moth in fatal flight.
Captive heart ignites.
A single spark lights up the darkest night,
and lifts our timid hearts to fearless flight.
It hums where doubts lie,
a little flame that we can call our own.
One spark can turn the shadows into light.
I entertain the magical flame with these hands.
There is no clutch.
No corner.
Everything is the same.
a single spark lights up the darkest night,
and lifts our timid hearts to fearless flight.
Clutched jaw, grinding teeth against pulp,
until ash and blood coat a deadened tongue.
The nightsong quiets—a pulsating silence encapsulates the land
as I walk up to a pyre built of withering dreams and deadly nightshade.
The cold, bitter air brushes against protruding flesh.
Looking toward the skies, faith stripped and shamed,
I climb and take my place among my ancestral spirits.
The silence of the night breaks, with chants of *Burn the witch* filling the void.
Leering eyes and foaming mouths scream obscenities my way.
But even among this fanatic freakshow, I hold on to my dignity.
I do not let them see the fear festering beneath my eyes,
nor does my lip quiver.
With insurmountable strength, I hold my head high
as I watch the torches preparing to set me ablaze.
Closing my eyes one final time, I breathe in everything I have ever held dear.
Memories flood—of loves lost and gained,
of the changing seasons,
of my connection to this glorious earth.
I can feel the flames licking at my feet now.
But I will not scream,
for my resurrection will come soon enough.
//See part 1//
...I could never forget you.//
Not even if I tried. For, see, when the springtime comes again each year, and the leaves begin to grow once more, your face is all I see. Your lips as they smile, your eyes as they glisten, your sweet laughter bouncing off the tin rooftop, all of it comes alive for me. You will always exist in me. No matter where I go. And even if you can't be mine and I cannot be yours, when I'm scared or get overwhelmed with life's noise, I'll close my eyes and go to my happy place: The Autumn Times. Because I know that no matter if we're together or apart, if I ever lose myself, that I'll always find you there. That's where home is. Even if it only exists for me.
Lighting candles pleases my soul
there's divine magic in each flickering flame
~ they dance with unfettered joy
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 2nd place 2025
The quiet between us settles into light,
a hush that weighs more than any word ever spoken
Your breath leans closer as if to speak my name.
Yet nothing breaks the air, no sound is heard.
A shaking pause:
time loosens its embrace,
the fading light leans in,
holding our hearts in place,
I feel a promise hover on my lips,
a secret tide that sways then slowly slips.
No language superior to this quiet vow,
no music sweeter than the moment now.
The silence bends then deepens into bliss.
The world reawakened within one tender kiss.
And in that silence even stars confess
love grows deepest, when it speaks no excess
Written: August 20, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Line Gauthier
********
We built a divine jewel, a flame in the mist,
But not every fire is destined to persist.
No vows etched in stone, no oaths to renew—
Just the gentle whisper of a love we outgrew.
So speak my name softly, then let it fade—
Not every farewell needs a curtain shade.
Fire and Shadow of the Eternal Flame
(c) 2025 by the Entangled Pair
You make longing feel like poems
all soaked in sweat and truth
they flow out unashamedly
sometimes unkempt, uncouth
and as they flow somehow they show
the yearnings of our youth
I come to you as fire and shadow
filling you with pleasured pain
pulsing you to overflowing
striving to relieve the strain
dissolving all that is not us
'til only we remain
we peer behind us, blissfully
into that other worldly place
we feel the beat of our contentment
see the thing that knows our face
our questions answered by reply
'this flame may dim but never die'
I crave moments
when my terrified side
is extinguished by longing—
when I willingly share
fervent fires with a
mouth made of kindling…
equally languishing lips
that sear ache upon ache—
until even fear tastes
like love worth keeping.
8.7.25
Written: August 14, 2025 for contest Sponsored by: Robert James Liguori
**********
The wind remembers what I tried to forget—
a voice in the fire, a name in the rain.
I stood on the edge of the world I had built,
watching it crumble, stone by pain.
The dragon I drove was born from fire,
It flew through the dusk of my silent revolt,
chasing the ghosts I could never tame,
Its claws were echoes, and its air was dire.
I cast off the armor, I buried the sword,
but the war in my chest would not cease.
Each heartbeat is a drum, each silence a scream,
each tear a fragment of peace.
The sky opened wide as a wound in the soul,
And I leapt with no promise of ground.
The dragon dissolved into vapor and song,
And I fell where no chains could be found.
Now I walk through the ashes with wings of my own,
not golden, not whole—but free.
And the tears of the dragon still fall in my dreams,
But they no longer belong to me.
Within the dark, before the day,
A golden spark will find its way;
Not borrowed light, nor fleeting flame,
But one with which the sun’s the same.
It warms the marrow, stirs the soul,
It makes the broken pieces whole;
Through weary hours, through every start,
It dwells within our beating heart.
When shadows press, it will not fade,
It stands where deepest love is laid;
For just as morning crowns the sky,
It rises here, and so do I.
We burn not just to see, but give,
To make the colder world live;
This flame, unchanged, will never part
The sun itself
Dwells in our heart.
A single light, a fragile spark
Guides the lost through endless dark.
The Keeper guards it, steadfast, still
A beacon strong, see.. a force of will.
It cannot falter, cannot fade
Its warmth eternal, softly laid.
The Keeper’s task, to hold it high
Until the stars themselves must die.
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