Next to the Flame

10 February 2026

https://poems.culturing.net/2026/02/next-to-the-flame/

Vanda is the Devourer, nemesis of every Oedipus,
the shadow of what love unchecked can become.
These passions have purposes, and not for no reason
do we restrain them with customs and rules.
Are we strong enough to stand naked next to the flame?
Only if we can make our own rules
and not fall back into the wildness whence we came.