The Ember

//

You had never seen sand so black,
You said.
Fascinated by darkness,
Though your name means light.

In your hand, you worry two stones.
Both cool to the touch now, though
They once flowed like a river beneath our feet.
And may again one day, even here.

You give one to me. Its surface like a mirror,
Darkly. As I blow out the candles,
A mal-aligned queen
Spectates patiently.

You’ll remember these things:
This place, this feeling,
Here at the side of desperate waters
With my hands shaking.

This lake, itself a mirror,
Where we are free as molecules of water
(Water: beauty when two elements unite),
And with it, our feet barely touch the ground.

You put a stone in your pocket;
I imagine it burning
Like an ember
As you roam the earth.

To remind you of things that are now cool,
But that once melted the earth,
And that may one day
Burn again.