Poem: Flickering Coals

I want to burn like the fire of a flickering coal.

The slow, warm, dance of the glowing embers: beacons of the night, fast-fading emblems. 

The fury and flames are long gone, the refining fire has settled–submitted?  

Illuminating the night is the conversation around these coals.

Seeing the subtle strength, the steadiness of the flickers, words of wonder flow. 

Look above into the night sky, see the stars. 

They are the night coals, the proclaimers of beauty, the emblems of equilibrium. 

The fire may fade, but the stars stay the same. 

I cannot be a star, but I have been ablaze. 

The fire is fading, yet the light is remaining.  

One day the gleam will be gone. 

Until then, let the fire of a flickering coal be the dance of my days.