Today He Lit a Candle
by Paul Hooker
Sometimes a friend adds just the right touch. Thanks, Dana Hughes, for the new final line.
Today he lit a candle and said a prayer
In the shadowed alcove of a sanctuary
the match he struck a phosphorescent globe
above a dozen votives in the tray,
wick sputtering, guttering as he lit it
and pensive blew the match out with a puff.
The passing of his breath across the candles
bestirred a breeze, and the dozen tiny blazes,
once steady, now wavered in its wake
turbulent, uncertain, as was his own
until they together straightened and anew
pursued the shadows with a more persistent light.
So do our anguished prayers unsettle others,
but everything that rises must converge.
This is lovely. Thanks for that image.
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rich imagery; the guttering light and the stirred up flame. i can smell the wax and the sulfurous match. my oh my, paul; you swept me into a very private context where even my response is a whisper. everything that rises must converge. shhhhhhh.
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Now it’s you who is astonishing. I may alter the “turn” of the sonnet and steal your final line: “everything that rises must converge” – perfect iambic pentameter! Thanks, Dana.
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Love this one, Paul! Something to think about when considering the power of corporate prayer!
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