Candles

Summer of eighteen years ago,

both my parents tipped their

candle to a new wick,

setting alight an infant flame

that over time would grow.

And when my flame had been

alight for just sixteen years,

I watched the flame that

lit my mother’s snuff out,

leaving behind a nostalgic aroma

of peppermint leaves and lavender.

Just as she did, years

ago, when both my feet

someday rest upon steady ground,

I too will tip my

candle to a new wick,

passing on a light that

has existed for many generations.

And someday- in all my

hope- that is far off,

my candle will softly flicker

out and leave nothing but

a faint, bittersweet scent lingering

in the air, capable of

recalling an entire lifetime’s memories.