in the candle
wax drips, drowning
its own feeble light,
powerless to keep back
the yawning mouth
of night so dark and deep,
casting pitiful dying wraiths
against the wall.
flickers of light,

stubborn as life,
grow more frenzied in
the struggle
as they lose the fight
against the shadows.
with a last resigned glow of gray
and whisp of smoke
the flame is gone.