Burning At Both Ends Poem by Diane Lee Moomey

They say that like it's a bad thing,
like that double flame ain't just the best
you'd ever want, and you not knowing anyway
whether you're gonna last longer
with only one end lit — you'll maybe
get hit by a bus before you can even vote,
and they'll pry that half-a-candle
from your rigored fingers.
It ain't like your kid
or your brother
or your dog
can use what's left, and that's a fact.

And they say it like there's only one
handed out, ever, right along with your first diaper
and that's it, the box and the matches
snatched away forever and that may be so,
it may be so.

But I say it ain't a bad thing.