I put the lid on the candle,
watch the flame burn smaller
and smaller as it’s being deprived
of oxygen
until it’s so dim that I think
it’s about to go out.
At the very last second possible
I snatch the lid off, and
the flame glows yellow again
as the air flows back
As a kid, that was such a fun game.
It was a way I could play with fire,
And never get burned.
Now I realize that this game is what it’s like to love you.
We can be burning bright going strong and then seemingly out of nowhere a lid covers us.
I’m deprived of oxygen for a moment,
almost about to give up and call it quits.
Just walk away.
It wasn’t worth the fight anyway.
But then something amazing happens.
You take off the lid.
You kiss me
and your lips
have the power to flood me with
oxygen
and gives us space to glow again.
It’s a cycle that will never end
Until one of us is done playing
Or one of us gets burned.
Featured image via Åaker on Unsplash
