Don’t let the flame die

a quick and easy death,

ignored and callously treated.

Treat it like rare gems,

place your gaze upon it often

and if it falters, looks like it is fading,

you will notice it immediately.

Treat it like a living plant,

pour your love and attention upon it often

and if starts to wilt, feed it

what it needs.

Don’t be careless with the flame,

it hides within it a sensitive soul,

scarred by previous upsets,

with scabs left over from idiots and heartbreakers

who came before you and chose a path away.

Away from a flame that they set,

and extinguished without mercy.

Behind this flame that re-lit for you,

fanned by your attention, your promises

of a bright and shared future,

lies a heart that holds misty smoke trails

of a fear of being abandoned.

Do not fear this flame,

as your fear only serves to squash the tendrils

of love that wrap itself around the scarred heart.

Most of all,

do not dare be careless

with this flame,

and the person within whom it burns.