Into and Beyond the Light

today
i want to light
one little lamp
in the quiet
of my temple.

not for visitors
to come in
and take a peek
and marvel
at the darkness
and light,
to take them
to that same void
where I've been sucked in
many a time,

today
i want to light
one little lamp
just for myself,
not to feel safe,
or trump evil eyes,
or hope to save the world
with the light,

today
i want to light
one little lamp
just for myself.

i want to feel
the heat rise and engulf
my parched skin,
i want to feel
every wrinkle and scar
light up and burn,
i want to feel
the heat get to me
in the closeness,
i want to feel
the urge to get up
and walk away,
to do something,
anything,

and then
in that threshold
of one inflamed silence,
i want to feel the flame
flicker and grow
and die
in the stillness
of my temple

and feel the desire
to light it
and not light it
again.

today,
i want to light
one little lamp,
just for myself,
in the quiet
of my temple.

Desires and Dreams

and when the world
asked me all over again,
"what about your desires
and dreams?"
I smiled to myself
and looked into the stars
with a glint in my eyes:
"if you keep looking deeply
into the ones
that catch your eye,
you will know
that there is no need
to jump up
so you can touch them
or grab them;
you will know
if you wait long enough,
that they will be yours
some day, in some way;
and you will then see
how they came down
to be with you,
in your eyes,
in your heart,
right now."