Every anum on the mark

we pour ourselves in wax

again, and try to coat a candle

that hasn’t yet been burned away.

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And every year we see ourselves,

the new improved—as we could be

and think “this year we will not burn

away or let the wax drip down.”

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But coated candles aged with flame

can never wax away the marks

of burn and stress—they stay to say

that aging grace is elegant.

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