Fireproof

My candles can’t burn down
Any more.
They can’t burn anything down,
These days.
They just flicker with a false incandescence
Less and less…
Dimmer and dimmer…
As their batteries discharge.

I only replace them,
The batteries, I mean,
When you visit.
So between your visits,
Each night is dimmer and dimmer.
Until I am alone in the dark.