If I Grow Up...(7)

If I grow up I want to be a candle

Sitting in the window reminding you

That no matter how far into the dark and cold you wander

There is a place with light and warmth

And you can come there.

If you knock the door will open

And if you ask "Can I come in?", the answer will be "Yes!"

I want to be a red candle in a gold candle stick

On a white lace tablecloth

Where a meal is served

Tales are told and dreams are shared as laughter

Weaves its way between the bites of sweet and spicy

And the sips of savory.

I want to be a tea light by a

Bubble bath in a room that smells of

Bergamot and roses

Near a silk dressing gown and

Giant fluffy white towels fresh from the dryer.

I want to be an emergency candle in the kitchen drawer

By a box of matches

Ready to light your path and help to

Keep you from stumbling

When the batteries have died and

All other forms of modern technology

Have left you in the black.

I want to be the midnight candle

Burning at both ends

Melting into every stolen moment and unplanned adventure

Nothing left when I am done but the faint aroma

Of vanilla and oatmeal cookies and the memory

That I burned brightly if briefly.

I want to be a roman candle

Shooting across the sky in celebration

exploding into a shower of sparkling lights

Cascading to the ground to a

Chorus of oohs and ahs.

I want to be a Christmas candle surrounded by the

Scent of pine cones and sugar cookies and

Reflected in every ripple of tinsel and foil

Lighting every branch and present.

I want to be a candle on your birthday cake

Celebrating every year that you have lived

Every month, week, day, hour, minute, second

Every breath and moment

Grateful for each and every one of the

Smallest increments of the line

Between your first moment in this world

And your last.

I could chose to be a wildfire

Devouring everything within my path

Caught up in the passion of the winds

And the abundances of of life.

Or I could choose a bonfire

Large and boisterous

Too intense to get close to but beautiful from a distance

Ready for anything you are willing to throw at it.

But I'd rather have you near

See the gleam of your eyes and

Feel the touch of your hand.

I could set the world on fire

But how would that compare to the chance

To warm your heart and

Light your way

Even for a day.

If I grow up I want to be a candle.