A Taper's Flame Poem by AFFAQ NABI

Let not false lights your wandering soul beguile,
That which tempts you is a moonlit cheat,
A phantom's antic, spun with subtle wile,
Momentary specters, themselves do meet;
And Time's keen scythe, which all our joys kills;
As tempests rage, and seasons swiftly turn,
Hope's tender bud, with bitter tears it fills,
While joyous dawn by grief's fire does burn.
A taper's flame gutters, wastes, and dies;
Each briefest spark, a musing takes its flight,
Till the wax is spent, and all its beauty dies,
Consumed by Time, swallowed by the night.
Then, live with goodness, let your spirit soar,
And from life's dreariness, your true self store.

.