A Flame Eternal

by Al Konda

Some loves arrive loudly. They blaze, astonish, consume — and vanish.

This poem is not about that kind of love.

A Flame Eternal was written for the loves that stay. The ones that do not rely on intensity, but on attention. The ones that learn how to burn — not brighter at first, but longer.

The image of flame appears often in poetry, but here it is stripped of its recklessness. This is not fire as passion alone. It is fire as practice. A warmth that survives cold hours. A light that does not abandon the road when doubt appears.

The eyes in this poem become a lantern — not because they dazzle, but because they guide. They pull the speaker forward through nights when faith grows small, when courage wavers, when even hope feels heavy.

What matters most is that this flame is chosen.

It is not immune to pressure.

It does not escape pain.

It grows because of them.

Love, in this poem, is not something that happens to us.

It is something we tend.

And through years gentle or severe, through silence and missteps, the flame endures — guarded not by fear, but by care.

Some fires do not ask to be admired.

They ask to be kept.

Read the full poem and analysis tomorrow 19th: https://alkonda.com/2026/01/19/the-poem-of-the-day-99/ 

© Al Konda · The Poetry Elite