carry a torch

From the metaphor of a burning flame, to keep a fire burning. The association of a torch with love may date to the Greek and Roman tradition of a wedding torch, lit in the bride’s hearth on her wedding night, then used to light the hearth in her new home. Such a torch is associated with the Greek god of marriage Hymenaios.

• "Someday, I know that Jim will up and leave me / But even if he does you can believe me / I'll go on carryin' the torch for Jim / I'll go on lovin' my Jim"
• "Brunhilde, a kind of earth-mother goddess, carries a torch for her lost love."
• "Lachey, for his part, seems to still carry a torch for his estranged wife."

• torch song
• old flame