The Candles

Some birthdays don't feel like celebrations - they feel like reminders of who isn't there.

By E.S.Flint Published 11 months ago • 1 min read

You said Happy Birthday

like it fixed everything -

like the years you weren't there

could be wrapped up

in a single sentence.

I smiled anyway,

because that's what children do

when they learn

love doesn't stay,

it just visits.

And later -

someone else said it too,

the one I thought would stay.

Their voice soft,

their absence louder.

Funny how they both

found the same exits.

The candles burned down

to nothing

and for a second,

I almost believed

either of you meant to stay.

I’m an Indigenous storyteller using poetry, photography & fiction to explore identity, love, loss and all the spaces we return to.

What I can't say, I write or capture. Because feeling it all is the point.

Follow me on Instgram: es.flint

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