Burned
Just as the lonely moth adrift in darkness
Drawn equally to candle, hearth, and pyre
Is startled by the unforgiving heat
And learns to fear the flames it would admire
So too do I, who burned too many times
Retain in me a weariness and fear
That urges me to always hold at length
The very things I most long to keep near
Passion flares too brightly to be trusted
Red and raw and scorching to the touch
Fast and fleeting, bright as an inferno
Both not enough and always far too much
Give me love which simmers like the embers
Of a fire, that’s burned down to the coals
With veins of red still bright within the ashes
Just hot enough to keep away the cold
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