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Dipped in Candle Wax

Rewriting a Humble Aftermath

By Oneg In The ArcticPublished 7 months ago Updated 7 months ago 1 min read
Top Story - February 2026
Dipped in Candle Wax
Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

After the show, at the end of the day

My heart sinks deeper into surrounding tissue

My essence molds itself back into existence

My body, ten-times-ten tender tonnes

My ribs, plush cushion made

A patchwork of lights dimming

A soy wax candle burns my belly sage

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See, after the parade

At the end of the day

The Mask

Of endless energy and erupting euphoria

Falls

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It’s just us now

Dimmed down hues casting rainbow

Shadows cross disco lit walls

Smoke filters the set scene

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It’s all about the in-betweens

The distance between moments

(The inhale, the exhale)

(Your scent, my sweat)

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We lie back into the starlit sky above

A freedom still so vastly liberating

Like the echo of your voice

Still reverberating from bone to bone, muscle to muscle, heartbeat to heartbeat

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You’ve left warm fire place in me

Stoked coals turned embers with fingers ablaze

Then left me to ruminate in shimmered ash still flittering in the near-still air

Waiting

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Waiting for intensity to melt butter like tender

For the calm to settle fireworked synapses

As I sink deeper into your skin

Plush cushion made

Heart ten-times-twenty tonnes grander

With nothing more (and everything possible) in-between

love poemsperformance poetry

About the Creator

Oneg In The Arctic

A queer storyteller and poet of arctic adventures, good food, identity, mental health, and more.

Co-founder of Queer Vocal Voices

Water is Life ✊

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    Written by Oneg In The Arctic