A Floating Lantern

On a mild summers eve a lone lit match
Just struck hastens to the place to detach
Flame quickly jumps as friends join the fray
A soft glow grows against a closing day

Slowly it rises then soon gathers pace
With wind at its feet but only wind to chase
Higher and higher, ever upwards it glides
Above to the mountains floating in the skies
Behind a flock of birds soaring, eager on their trail
Its heart ablaze with a minstrel's tale
Of lands far away it may never reach
Of hidden beauty you can never truly teach
Pursuing the compass to its very brink
Shall it make it hither ere it sink?

Onwards it went 'til it only could be seen be eagle scout
Until its dying moment when its life gave out

By Pete Scopes