.
She feels the golden stand
between her palms,
follows every curve
with fingers
searching for the essence
of a splintered block of tree
as he spun and shaped it
on his lathe,
then polished gently
with his sacred oil.
.
Now she lights the candle
and watches
as the blush of flame
smooths up the walls
inside her heart
and out into the night.
She muses on a memory
and wonders
if he’ll ever know
how his soul-fire
lit her world
and turned the sky
a warmer shade of light.
.
© 2013, 2016 Betty Hayes Albright
.
Candle holder in photo created by the DutchMan.
Seasonings 
Great, Betty! In the final line, I love “warmer shade”–we think of shade as being “cool” ordinarily; and though I may have read this slightly out of context, I liked the idea that shade might be warmed (light, also) by his soul-fire. Very nice! Love, SOS Caddo
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Thanks, Caddo! (I just reformatted the poem and added a photo of the actual candle holder that inspired it – didn’t have a chance last night.) Glad you liked it. 🙂
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Beautiful, how an inanimate object can evoke memories!
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Thank you, Willow – good to hear from you! (As usual I’m behind on everything here….)
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It is amazing sometimes how an object can become such a strong symbol of our emotions…of fine expression of that in your poem.
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Thanks, Charlie – I agree about objects becoming strong symbols of our emotions. Sometimes it’s hard finding the right words and there’s no other way to express but through poetry (something you are most gifted at!)
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Very passionate and lush. I love the image of light in this poem, the candle light on the walls of her heart and the way her love lights the sky with a warmer shade…ah.
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Thank you, Anna – so happy for your comment!
(Am hoping to get caught up with your blog this weekend.)
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Something created can evoke such feelings and keep such memories! It is eternal. So beautifully captured in this piece. ♥
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And thank you for THIS one, Diane!
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How well you ease your emotions into your words and images, Betty.
I sent an e-mail to your yahoo address, but I haven’t had a reply. 😦
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Ben – a belated thank you for your comment – and thanks again for alerting me to your email. (My computer is working a little better now so I’ll try to check more often!)
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I missed this Betty, dont know how. But so glad I found it! It’s just beautiful.
I hope you are well.
Love
Christine xx
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Oh Christine, thank you very much!
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I like this Betty, your writer’s block seems unblocked. 😉
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