Fires

There used to be such heat surrounding you,
So much intensity, which burned away
The limits of what's possible to do,
Create, imagine, write, invent, and say.
I thought no task was large enough to prove
How much you mattered, and no wall too high
To climb upon, no stone too great to move,
If it could bring me to you. But now I
Sadly aware of what you used to mean
Can feel the fading warmth, and see the glow
Of embers giving off a little sheen
Of partially-reflected light, but no
True heat to kindle what remains,
And even that small glow forever wanes.