The Seven Candles Poem by Natalia Bakina

No black, no white in the last parlour
Where seven candles you should burn
Imbibing secrets of their colours,
Shaking my ashes from the urn.
Their wisps will touch your hands and wrists,
The gems of petals on the trays.
They’ll waft into the pristine mists
And get absorbed by piercing rays.

You’ll light the first candle to bleed
And to evoke its red etude
Of passion with its flaming creed
Against the armoured solitude.
The tides of swirling lust will glisten
When your delirium emerges.
Desires will glow when you listen
To the crimson wind split into dirges.
You’ll watch the ghosts it will make –
The lunar owls and solar eagles,
The dance of the infernal snake,
Her mesmerizing curves and wriggles.
The scarlet wolves will roar and howl
Dropping saliva in thick strips.
The rabid fires will burst and growl -
You’ll see their fangs and feel their grips.

Then you should burn the second candle
And to release its orange powers.
Your strength will flare when you handle
The incense sticks among the flowers.
You’ll put your fingers in the bowl
Of inner balance not to mourn
And cry for the transmitted soul
At the threshold of the dawn.
You’ll find oblivion to elude
The silver griffin with her lure,
And the gold phoenix, sparkling nude
Without her blazing plumage, pure.

The yellow candle you should hold
Will bring celestial devotion
And cast its crystal lights to mould
New visions filled with new emotions.
The brilliance from the dragon’s eyes
Will raise your spirit high and warm
Your psyche. - All the butterflies
Will reach the sun when they transform.
The iridescent bees won’t sting,
The lizards in the rootless trees
Will shed their amber tails and cling
To the god-glorifying breeze.

You’ll see the next candle ignite,
Its aura filled with magic forces
Of fairy lands where the green sprites
Ride their fragrant floral horses
And gallop through the primal times,
Among the all-accepting love,
Across the all-engulfing rhymes,
Merging below with above,
Entangling and upsetting dreams,
Unseen, unuttered and unheard,
Lost in the emerald floods and streams
Beyond the edges of the world.

When the blue candle is kindled
You’ll get its tranquilizing cure
And all your cares will be dwindled
Away in the divine azure.
The wistful journey will be ended
With the enhancing intuition -
Your bonds and ties, all unlamented,
Left in the ultimate submission.

Then you should take the indigo –
Its candle will emit the ocean
Of never-ending vertigo
In self-rejuvenating motion.
The ethereal tigers will bare their teeth
Outstretching their transparent paws
To catch the lotus in the wreath
Of gems carrying the cosmic laws.
The diamond vehicle will aspire,
Driven by the enlightened flow,
Reflecting spectrum of sapphire –
Insightful flashes, mental shows.

You’ll burn the last candle to find
The violet secrets of creation.
Your self-evolving searching mind
Will radiate regeneration
To culminate your destined quest
Blossomed into your resurrection
Within the circles of the rest
Under the crown of perfection.
The purple stars in their array
Will show the rooftop of existence.
You’ll join their eternal way
And cover their stellar distance.

Arrange the candles in a row,
They’ll burn away to follow me.
The seven arrows of the bow
Will shoot your heart but set you free.
Send me to where I belong,
Illuminate my universe.
Your earthly love will shine so strong,
Your heaven’s love will be self-worth.

(Moscow,2011)