Thought #5

by Ivan Saldarriaga

where do all those past flames go?
with passion and desire,
they once lit up my days.
now they're just distant memories,
memories reaching to me now and then,
with tenderness,
shyness,
coyly prickling my curiosity,
making me think, what if?

Are they extinguished forever,
never to be brought back to life,
like a used and disposed tissue?
Or instead, perhaps,
will they warm someone else's thoughts?
So full of enticing, frills, and comfort,
will they rekindle some other time?
Gracing us with its hopefull, desirous presence
like an extinguished star's light shining on
through lonely space,

Or is it spent forever,
without a marker or grave?
Only to be remembered now and then,
whenever thoughts happen to meander into the past,
and drift back into that solitary moment
of wishful expectation...