She was a phoenix with flaring wings,
Heart attached to her chest on strings.
She roamed the skies reigniting dead stars,
Yet couldn’t quite mend her own scars.
He was a lighthouse above the shore,
Fighting and fighting a lonely war,
Standing strong on the edge of the Earth,
Doubting the future, but shining forth.
They found each other one winter night;
His light and her fire were equally bright.
They bonded so quickly it made no sense.
There was no deceit and no pretence.
He towered protectively over her flame,
And with her heat his soul she could tame.
One was of fire, the other of stone —
Stronger together than ever alone.
Happiness weaved an unbreakable cord
Between the lighthouse and the blazing bird.
Nothing could stop them, or so it seemed.
And, unaware, they dreamed and dreamed.
“I promise to stand for you, tall and strong,
In good times and bad, for we belong.”
“I’ll give you the last of my feathers and fire,
For you are the one I support and desire.”
Untroubled, they swathed each other in love,
But thunder was rolling high above.
A lightning struck. Then a second. A third.
And thus was broken their unbreakable cord.
Where were her wings when she needed to fly?
Why did the sea his light defy?
They drifted apart, like unguided ships,
His light and her fire in eclipse.
He asked her to leave, so she didn’t stay.
What once had been pure was now in decay.
He called for the bird, but away she had flown.
Scorched was her name across the stone.
(2017-2018)