THE CANDLE

for Dylan Thomas 27th October 1914 - 9th November 1953


this candle

for the poet

who bended

words to wax

with tapered lyric

in the boathouse shed

in laugharne

takes on the role of pen and paper


this crown so lighted

crowned his light

with wisps of smoke

above erratic pulsing blue

and yellow streets

of gold . . .


how quick the candle

flickers out


how quick the heart

grows cold.


c- G. Williams

laugharne is pronounced larne - it is the name of a small village on an estuary in south wales where dylan thomas, who died at the age of 39 in New York, lived in his 'house on stilts' and worked at his poems in the so-called boathouse shed, which was a wooden garage constructed at a slight angle to a narrow lane leading to the house and having fine views of the  the estuary; it's purpose was to garage the owner's  car which, like dylan, had no reverse gear.