Candle flickers
frustrated, I try to keep reading
flame smaller and smaller
why can’t I light this wick?
I could not see that the string had burnt down to nearly nothing
buried in a soft and lumpy ball of wax

Again I strike
a match and burn my fingers
upside down but
I scald them again
it took so long for me to realize
you were melting, charred

And then I was sorry and lost
blind without your light