Flame

I watch this flame
pass from match to wick,
gently stepping over
a great divide.
This flame and I
are not so different.
It comes into being
from nothingness.
It eats and grows
and burns and rests.
It gets angry,
destroys homes,
consumes flesh.
Sated, it becomes calm
retreats into coals,
smoldering through the night.
Domesticated by a piece of string,
it makes its home
in a cave of wax.
It chases the shadows away
and stands watch through the night.
It sways
and dances in the darkness.
Before it is extinguished
in the blink of an eye.
I'll watch over you,
like a flame.