[audioplayer file=”https://admin.rattle.com/audio/deNiordMantle.mp3″]
catches the small blue flame that lights
the room, then glows on high in the hiss of gas.
A sheath of silk, it rounds the flame
behind the lantern’s glass.
It’s nothing and something when the flame expires
like the gown of a ghost that’s gone inside.
It’s a body that burns to a single ash
but still ignites like an oil-soaked rag
at the touch of a flame.