Even when I am unlit, I promise patient light. Strike me— I steadily shine for everyone I brighten rooms. I soften corners. I make myself useful. The flame flickers higher the harder I try. A melt pool forms at my feet like a quiet surrender, warm and easy to ignore. I tell myself, this is what shining feels like. But the more I glow, the deeper I sink— melting middle walls weakening inward. The tunneling begins. I burn. I forget the rest of myself. The room is now radiant and they are warm, yet I drown in my own light. There is always a burn time and still, I lean into the living flame.