Inside me
Is a small flickering flame.
It flares up, fanned into life.
In life’s warmth it glows,
Secure, satisfied, serene.

A smile plays on my lips;
A light in my eyes.
A song bubbles in the depths of my being.
Life itself rises up and exults
Inside me.

At times
Despair reaches into my soul.
The light flickers and fades
And dullness remains - emptiness.
Darkness overwhelms me.

The meaning which was mine escapes me.
Life becomes precarious, fragile,
Infinitely wearisome
And I wonder where we’re going
At times.

I am not in control of my life, it seems.
I live all the time on the edge,
Dependent on that warmth that glows
Now strong, now faint:
The eternal flame.
 

Julie Duke

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