You are my candle flame,
warm and bright.
The beacon that led me
out of darkness and
into our future.
You are my candle flame,
calling me home
comforting me again.

But, him.
He is the burning embers
that still smolder in my soul.
The spark that started my life,
flames growing until
they threatened to engulf me
with power and danger.
Burning up my world,
igniting my passion
in a way I could never have contained.

You light my path.
He kindled my soul.
You are my present, my future.
He was my life.

You, my candle flame, though warm and bright,
can never match the heat of him
that first gave me an insatiable thirst to drink life.

The love I want
and the love I need
and the incontrovertible difference between.