lingering embers lay smoldering out
fingers searching through ashes
rearranging, but always in doubt
to find all of the matches
re-piece all that matters
the dull glow lingers, hanging around
forcing my hands to shake
scattering remnants, moving about
escaping my baleful gaze
forever til the end of days
the lovely burn, or what so was thought
has drained me of all my ways
forever in flee, but finally caught
shes caught me, and so i'll stay
never to go away
rekindling a fire, set it ablaze
see how long its tongues last
no, not yet, I'm not ashamed
the warnings shall never pass
our love has shaped the glass
let sands pour, sinking in time
extinguishing all the fire
a grain for each second that i'm,
slowly becoming the liar
slowly becoming so tired
and once more the flames have gone
forever to never be anew
the future in the smoke has shown
of eyes so coldly blue
forever without you
Christopher Pitts 12/1/12
All I had to do was love her with all my heart and it would be OK.
I clung to her to save her life, as she wriggled.
Love, a propped up cardboard cutout,
Trust, her whipping boy
Hope, a bloodied and bruised up mess, with its eyes swollen shut.
A flame once burned, my ray of hope; and she placed it beneath her spoon.
There’s just one heart where there once was two
It’s a story of love we write on a shore
A promise of love we softly whisper
I hear you breathing softly by my side
The way I feel and what you mean to me
You are my lover, my friend.
And when I stand beside you
I can feel the pride of my heart
And its you that I’m going to stay
And now you say you want to leave
I can’t believe what I have just heard
You walk by and I fall to pieces
The clouds are all disappeared
My heart now cries a river of tears
Goodbye for the love once we shared
We leave a flame once burned.
Bitter sweet memories we left behind.
Cheryl Aldea
December 4, 2012
Flames of love drift
In the oceans of passion
Waves of fulfillment
Rollo West
12/3/2012
Plasma which makes flame
vanishes once heat
consumes oxygen
and sparse fuel, leaving
only cold ashes.
The refuse lies.
Warmth and brightness
live without form,
intangible.
Flame itself
never dies,
only waits,
patient;
set to
start.
12/3/12
Brittany Reynolds
I know that we must surely part
Another shines within your heart
The closeness gone, the magic dead
Your love belongs to her instead
The tears I shed, unseen, unheard
And once you hung on every word
Resigned, I see I lost the fight
Our love won’t last another night
Usurped, I toss my ring away
It’s pointless begging you to stay
Jack Horne, 3rd December, for Gail's a Flame once burned contest
A Flame Once Burned
The new girl gathered her books as the class bell did ring
That’s when I noticed my heart’s spark began to fling
I followed her to physical Ed
I wanted to say hi but my boldness fled
Shafted by my own lack in doubting
Afraid her truth sparks would be most disheartening
Next to the fire extinguisher the cafeteria door I did wait
Fueling flame of passion my thoughts which did innovate
I spied her and lingered the more inflamed
But the bow’s arm she tightly did clang
Sadly diminished my heart’s heaping flame
I stood at the door as she and he did pass
This flame which once burned seemingly did not last
Sadden and chard what had flamed so brightly
I bowed my head to walk away drably
But oh, I now gaze upon a most delightful redhead
Perhaps the flame again for her could instead
By Mark A. Goodson
12/3/12
A flame once burned where embers glow
And deep inside my heart I know
Untended embers turn to ash
And I know dreams are known to crash.
Our love kindled a passion’s fire
That promised never to expire
Somehow, though, time passed us by
And our endless flame began to die
We knew a flame would leave an ember --
We’d soon have nothing to remember
Yes, unattended, embers go
And leave just ashes with no glow
To say to me, “a flame once burned”
Will bring from me this, in return,
“Only, embers, flames and sparks
Can bring light into the dark.”
Ashes, on the other hand,
Still have much at their command
In their warmth remains, you see,
Some hauntingly beautiful memories.
John Posey
12/02/12
The shadows grew beyond the light.
My midlife crisis felt just like night.
Eyes wide open are now half blind.
I was sent to prison inside my mind.
The doors of yesterday have all been locked.
The ship that sailed has now been docked.
The love of sea has turned to fear.
Adrift on land, I can't see clear.
The winds of change have cast their spell.
Who knew they'd blow as cold as hell.
A flame once burned from deep within.
And now it seems I just can't win.
Robert Johnson
12/02/2012
For Gails contest
lingering embers lay smoldering out
fingers searching through ashes
rearranging, but always in doubt
to find all of the matches
re-piece all that matters
the dull glow lingers, hanging around
forcing my hands to shake
scattering remnants, moving about
escaping my baleful gaze
forever til the end of days
the lovely burn, or what so was thought
has drained me of all my ways
forever in flee, but finally caught
shes caught me, and so i'll stay
never to go away
rekindling a fire, set it ablaze
see how long its tongues last
no, not yet, I'm not ashamed
the warnings shall never pass
our love has shaped the glass
let sands pour, sinking in time
extinguishing all the fire
a grain for each second that i'm,
slowly becoming the liar
slowly becoming so tired
and once more the flames have gone
forever to never be anew
the future in the smoke has shown
of eyes so coldly blue
forever without you..
Christopher R. Pitts
12/1/12
A flame once burned so brightly everything in sight
seemed quite beautiful in its blinding light.
Everything I took for truth once upon a time
seemed to me more glorious; love seemed more sublime.
Then the fire began to die. Every little flaw
I began to clearly see till I’d seen it all.
Half a lifetime and the flame still is burning out.
As it dims, I am learning what life is about.
But the happy medium I had come upon
soon will flicker less and less. Going….. Going…. Gone.
When my flame goes nearly out, will there come a pall?
In the darkness that will come - will I see at all?
How I miss those days of yore - passion of my youth -
when a flame once burned, and I thought I knew of truth.
It's chilly where the sun once shone,
Mem'ries haunt when I'm alone,
Bereft of joys that I had known,
My dreams all torn apart.
Scorched the earth where flowers bloomed,
The dust and ash my hopes consumed,
Hes'tations, doubts our passion doomed
Ere it had time to start.
I want in vain for solace dear,
It's dark where once the skies were clear,
When naught but what might be I feared
And the course our love would chart.
Promises broken,
Words unspoken,
Deep wounds opened,
Eyes that cried.
Wrongs not righting,
Constant fighting,
Unrequiting,
Love soon died.
It's cold here where a flame once burned,
It's empty where for you I yearned,
It's dead and life will not return
To the cinders of my heart.
Written for "A Flame Once Burned" Contest
December 1, 2012
By: Daniel Beus
I saw an obituary in the paper today
From a page in my life I had turned
A tear down my cheek had slipped away
For a flame that had long ago burned
The flame shone bright for a year or two
From a chapter in my book of youth
For years I had wondered what happened to you
It was my fault, if you must know the truth
I thought perhaps other flames
Might burn for me brighter still
Thinking that love was just a game
A quest I would never fulfill
Tear drops spotted the paper
As I remembered this love I had spurned
The flickering never quite wavered
From the light of this flame once burned
by Joe Flach, written and posted on 11/30/12 for the "Flame Once Burned" contest.
The flame that once burned in that mortal shell
through life and love that sparked many emotions
It was now gone forever, its fire quelled
It had burned through many storms upon life's ocean
In tears and laughter, it would continue to burn
Through life and love that sparked many emotions
When the flame dimmed and flickered, it caused some concern
would it blaze back and resume its dance?
In tears and laughter it would continue to burn
Time had stolen much of its radiance
The time of its end had finally come
would it blaze back and resume its dance?
But this once great flame did finally succumb
had flickered awhile before going out
The time of its end had finally come
Of its end there was no doubt
The flame that once burned in that mortal shell
had flickered awhile before going out
It was now gone forever, its fire quelled
Quick as the late night breeze crept around my neck
Your love began to hold me ,grip me
And I didn't want it to let go of me
Snip,snip,snip the scissors went
Right through our relationship
You and I once was
Now its You , I
The ending came to quickly
Though it ended sweetly
Never did we miss a beat
Never did we cry defeat
Of a battle lost ,but won
By ; Kay'Sha Taylor
Date : 11/26/12
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