Inner light

I thought I saw your inner light, burning valiant, sweet and true
And I loved and cherished the brillant flame which I thought was you.

I noticed the flickerings of your fire as it struggled to burn old, bitter fuel
But still you shone with such integrity I was sure you would never be cruel

And then I saw that light turn cold as ice, suddenly lashing out at me
With the cruelty of desperate fear – the shock almost worse than the misery.

Later still, I saw that light half-choked in a mound of jagged metal rubble
I cut my hands trying to set you free, but my efforts only worsened your trouble

And now I wonder if that inner light was ever truly there at all
Or just an illusion I wanted to believe, now vanished beyond recall.

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This was partly inspired by a prompt at read write poem to write about light – check out what other poets have produced here.