Epigraphic Prompt Response, Paper Poetry

Crystal Flame

burns on

words and image by Wry

“For unless I am myself, I am nobody.” ~ Virginia Woolf

Before he died Dad gave me a gift,
something remembered,
dredged from dementia,
momentarily clear
as the flame he spoke of.

Can’t remember exactly
words he’d remembered
several decades.
I’ll ask my erudite sister.
She’ll remember the source.

An old book read
about art, history,
creative genesis.
The gist I recall,
about vision and truth,

being true to self,
honoring what burns
inside, shedding light,
making us shine,
illuminate nations,

guiding our way.
Keep it alive,
he seemed to be saying,
the brilliance we share,
that “hard crystal flame”.