At least they loved.
That, we must remember.
Whether or not their choice was right
or wrong,
a waste or an inevitability,
they loved.
From this flame were they given form,
and then,
courting a fire too great,
they were undone.
But it is still our choice,
our decision,
to cherish these remnant embers,
or to side-step their warmth.
For why wrap ourselves in what
had already riven one once over?
"We will not fall into the same pitfalls here,"
they might say.
"Our lives have a different sort of meaning."
Or, as a humbler sort,
"I will go with honor, with grace.
This will not sweep me along,
as long as I'm here."
We could all add to that list,
till the words were all spent.
Either way, the flame's fatalistic kith
and kin reside here as well,
waiting to accompany us on the day that,
we too,
take our pilgrimage into the dark.
And from the shore,
huddled about themselves
in a blinding unawarity,
they,
who were once we,
will witness our own lights out there,
pressed up against oblivion
and slipping fast.
Seemingly,
the only time the abyss is noticed
is when a flame strays off,
and so they take notice,
though it could be said that they
noticed only what mattered to them,
which was nothing at all.
"What a fool."
"What a waste."
"It can't be helped."
Reflections, all around.
All waters aside.
Softly, they fade.
What burns on the shore appears to grow,
though, really, what do they know?
As the last warmth leaks through to them,
as those final rays wash upon
that final shore,
meager scraps as they are,
what will they say?
What, may I ask,
did we all say,
given our places had been swapped?
I know, it's a tired story.
But we never tire of it, do we?
Well, that's another matter altogether.
Stuck, if you will.
Best to leave it for now.
It's getting colder, isn't it?