Monday, February 17, 2014

More Light Than Heat

 

 

 

 

 

More Light Than Heat

Oh, to be a candle, scourge of the night,
Giving of oneself to battle the gloom;
So tall and tapered, sharing warmth and light,
Banishing the dark from every room.
Though tapers, lit, more radiance purvey,
The flames consuming all they have to share,
More sacrifice is not the only way,
To multiply a solitary flare.
For brilliance travels back and forth en mass,
Nearly undiminished goes forth its beam,
As light breaks forth from gleaming silvered glass,
To banish shadows in a twinkling dream.
Tis enough to reflect the light it sends,
Rather than burn a candle at both ends.
Mick McKellar
February 2014



Why do some poets generate more heat than light? Why do they flare brightly and are quickly gone? Perhaps, they simply need to polish their powers of observation, and reflect on that which illuminates their lives.

Mick

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