Written for the prompt O is for Out
The Lovelorn Candle
A single lovelorn candle –
Smart, petite and bright –
Just needed some affection
To be a ray of light.
To her, love was important,
It wasn’t just a game;
She didn’t want to end up
As somebody’s old flame.
She used to date a church candle,
Upright, proud, but thick
And stank so much of incense
He soon got on her wick.
She tried a Roman candle with
A bad-boy reputation,
But he’d flare up alarmingly
At slightest provocation.
She dated – once – a tea-light
Whose ego needed stroking;
Not only that, he was hot-headed
And would not stop smoking.
This single lovelorn candle
A plan began to hatch:
On dating apps and websites
She’d surely find a match.
She swiped and searched and swiped and searched
To find the perfect candle,
But most of them were far too dim
And some too hot to handle.
And then she saw a candle –
He was tall, and strong, sublime.
A flood of warmth surged through her
She’d not felt for quite some time.
He’d struck a spark within her
And her heart began to soften
’Cos candles like this handsome thing
Didn’t come up very often.
He messaged her and asked her
If she would please go out;
But did he mean go out go out
Or did he mean go out?
She was in such a quandary
She couldn’t quite distinguish:
Did he want her to be hot stuff
Or her bright flame extinguish?
She asked him if the words he’d messaged
He would clarify,
Her little heart a-melting
Awaiting his reply.
And now they light each other’s lives
Two loving hearts aflame;
Whatever we are made of,
We all need love, just the same.
© Carol Carman 2025
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