Lanterns of the Past (Poem)

A flame once doused by time and war,

Now dances bright on this bookstore floor.

In every life, I lose, I find,

The echo of your soul aligned.

Though trust was shattered, glass and ash,

We sprang anew from every crash.

Not every love returns with grace—

But ours reclaims both time and place.

I see you now through different eyes,

Yet feel the pull where memory lies.

A soldier’s guilt, a healer’s pain,

Two hearts reborn to try again.

The lantern hums a haunted tune,

Lit not by fire, but by the moon.

It holds the vows we failed to keep—

Now stirred awake from lifetimes’ sleep.

We don’t remember every fall,

Each lifetime’s rise, each silent call.

But something in our marrow knows

The way love lingers, how it grows.

So take this hand, though shadows stay,

We’ll walk through doubt, not run away.

For wounds may speak, but don’t define—

This time, you’re yours, and I am mine.

The flame burns gold, a sacred trust,

Forged not from need, but faith and dust.

Let past lives fade, let future bend—

Our story dares to start again.