Unattended Fire

I lit the pillar to pretend I was home,

to soften the edges of living alone.

The vanilla is heavy, a chemical cloud,

making the silence feel sticky and loud.

I stayed in the kitchen for nearly three hours,

until the fake scent of the candle went sour.

Now a smudge on the glass is all that remains,

like a dirty thumbprint or oil-slick stains.