the truth about the moth and the flame
Lauren Leach
a moth is aware
his being is of air
and light and dust
a luminous dream--
yet he envies the flame
its passion-- untamed,
all-consuming,
eternal, it seems--
so he flies in to steal
that spark, the real
heart of fire,
to extinguish its light--
but the flame always parts
willingly with its heart
to whoever inquires,
and the moth's selfish flight
ends in tragedy--
consumed not by passion,
but by his own envy.
