LIFE Poem: LIKE A MOTH TO A FLAME, by Leni Wicht

I would hide.
Run away from the light.
If I stay in the dark
I won’t see the flame.

I try not to look.
But I can’t stand it anymore.
I creep from the corner
and approach the danger.

I know I will get hurt,
but I don’t quite understand.
It’s warm as I approach.
The feeling of safety grows stronger.

Why was I scared
of the safety of home.
It’s comforting and hopeful.
I get closer.

I relish in the heat.
Let it envelop me.
But it burns.
It’s burning, it’s burning.

I run and run.
Back to the safety
that is the corner of my room.
A blanket, chair and book.

There I will stay.
Afraid of the light
but still missing the warmth,
that feeling of safety.

He screams and she cries.
She got burned too.
I race from the corner
back towards the light.

The light now means danger
and I still feel the pain.
I comfort her then move on
reaching to put the light out.

The warm comforting feeling envelops me
I forget the mission.
But it burns.
It’s burning, it’s burning.

I escape and move away
back to safety.
Enveloping myself in the words of other people.
Forgetting the pain.

I creep upstairs later.
She’s flying towards the flame.
I scream. She stops.
No burning today