Love in the Dark

By Kimberly Nguyen

Posted on May 1, 2023

Cover Image Title: Farewell

Cover Image by: Meghan Zhang

Classification: Digital

Specification: Resized from 3,856 x 3,000 px, 300dpi

Year: 2023

I don’t want love that is defined by fire

I don’t want passion that is defined by fire

Play with fire

You’ll get burned

You’ll hurt others

You’ll burn the house down

The smoke and ash will suffocate you

Candles get blown out at the end of the day

Sure, they make your house smell nice

But, why do you light the candle again tomorrow?

Fireworks disappear into the night after a colorful explosion

Sure, they are celebratory

But, what do you do now that there is nothing to celebrate?

There’s nothing more ideal than finding your “light in a tunnel” right?

That vulnerability the dark brings

The security the light provides

However,

I want to find love in the light

In the mornings where I wake up looking like hell but know I’m beautiful anyway

I carry my flame

In the afternoons when the city is bustling and I feel within a community

I carry my flame

In the evenings when the colors orange and yellow help carry the sun away

I carry my new flame into the darkness of night

With evergreen love and passion

Descriptions:

This poem is about finding comfort in the dark and mistaking it for love when we are inclined to gravitate toward it because any comfort in the darkness feels grand. “Darkness” in this context is when we are vulnerable or caught in the unforgiving tides of life’s ocean. We want something to latch onto, to feel secure and stable. However, finding love in darkness is short-lived and does not allow us to see beyond the darkness. The reference to the candle is about how the scent of a candle fills a house but eventually fades away with time, and we need to constantly.

[ * The End * ]

[Writing Editor: J. Y.]