The Flame You Carry

2017

Every hair that’s on your head

Grows with every thought you think.

Words come passing from your mouth

To guide what colors your hands paint.

Without thought, creation breeds

Inside a soul who can’t contain it—

Constant, it flows through every deed;

Through hands, through tongue, to those who stain it.

Tiny details and little dots

Form the pillow where your head lies.

Drown yourself with those like you

Who move and sing and stare at the sky.

As you leave, your fires follow,

Fanning their hearts with the flame you carry;

A few new minds to tell your stories

And sing your songs when away you tarry.

Words I speak when I’m around you

Die the second you’re away.

‘Til then, I sit here in my waiting

For you to come bring life again.