The Thing That Burns

There is in each of us a vision
An exquisite burning light
Not just a pleasing picture
More than an epiphany
A spark that lights the fire
Upon the raw kindling
At the core of our being.

Too many people live
With the ashes of a fire
That went out so long ago
They find it hard to remember
What heat felt like.

The very reason you were made
Was to burn like a bright torch
Your fuel is that thing or things
That it pains you not to do
That which is always waiting
Just below the surface of your thoughts
When it’s not already dominating them.

You bury this thing
At peril of losing touch
With the core of who you are
Who you wish you could be
And who you might become.



(first published in THROW AWAY THE STONES, 2004)