Tessa Niznik

I like candles
I like how they look
I like how they smell
And when I was younger I liked seeing how
different materials burned.
I’m sure someone could explain
with lots of complicated math,
why a puddle of hand sanitizer
burned a low, barely-there blue
or why some materials don’t burn at all.
And there was this thing I used to do
when I would take the heavy glass lid of
a big scented candle
and balance the lid over the top.
The flame would first stand up straight,
reaching for air
and then, quiet as a mouse
it would begin to fade out.
There was no smoke, it was like those overhead
lamps that you can use a little sliding button to make
as dim or bright as you want.
I would watch the light fade exponentially faster.
And then at the last second I would pull the lid off,
the flame would sputter, then burst back to life
and I would laugh and laugh.