Will-o'-the-wisp

 In the distance, like wisps of smoke that ebb and flow

A ghostly glowing spindle flickers in the dark

I chase it in vain, every lunge hits me like a blow 

Yet I keep on, yearning to feel its enlivening spark 

It comes in waves, ever so close and yet farther away

I try to grab a hold, but the sand slips beneath me, 

the light flickers again, transient, ephemeral as a ray

like a firefly dancing beneath the big ol' chestnut tree

I gravitate towards it, like a moth to a flame 

It's hard to resist the alluring promise of fame

Though it brings more darkness than it dispels

Trapping you for eternity, with muffled cries and yells 

As I inch closer and closer, the singularity, my only aim

The tenacious fog lifts, laying the truth bare  

I ask myself through tears, was it worth the endless pain 

Only to realise the will-o'-the-wisp scarcely does care