Quietus

Malleable waxes rich in lipids

wick braids perplexingly-knit

whence came fire and the bees

or why the chandelier was lit.

One of the greatest mysteries

about the origins of candles

countless submitted inquiries

of them who swallow camels.

Distilling dry mosquitoes

milking wealth off confusion

professors with huge egos

fond of the intricate illusion.

The candles burning bright

a universe cold is now alight

wicks larger than the candles

crackling fire, hotly, prattles.

Clever enough to retort

in long-winded speech resort

waxy pith theories they blurt

shadow plays for the herd.

Outsmarted by real acumen

fancy-pants women and men

uppity moths to inner flame

fiction as facts misname.

Prisoners inside the cave

glow warps in lava puddles

make-believe conclave

by conjurer who mishandles.

Etch-A-Sketch philosophies

running wild on treadmills

powered by hypotheses

given farcical headings.

Developing Spelunker's lung

from exposure to the fun guy

bats roll out their carpet dung

award ceremony held in pigsty.

Wax effigies of higher alkanes

in a row at Madame Tussaud's

lipophilic drippings on its floors

the scorched Nobel Prize remains.

Innovation still melts away

wick duration - try as we might -

yet no decoding to our dismay

chorioretinitis plagues the sight.

Hold in doubt if light is needed

should we choose another path

in a séance to see the aftermath

all warnings will go unheeded.

Essential oils buffet strongly

flames fluttering like butterflies

ominous gust snatches tautly

there beadwork web of silent cries.

Wondering whether through this art

some light was shed on the chandler,

incense sticks drew the afterlife chart

or they were guzzled by the angler.

They say, candles were made to shine

show the way out of the dark

bring closer to the finish line

seekers with faith as their trademark.

Wick, either burnt or snuffed out

intact body or reduced to grout

molten cradle with a charred fetus

birthday candle smoke and then quietus.