Lighting a candle

Lighting a candle                                                                                     

I saw the Friend shining in your eyes.

Beheld by His kindness,

my heart and body remembered

the holy companionship

my mind had worn out and misplaced.

I heard my silent Master in your throat –

voice and laughter – stepping daintily,

for a few moments outside time’s flow.

I felt the touch of the Friend

in the softness of your eyes;

His unwavering good spirits

in the cup of your smile.

Anew, I experienced

the awe and reverence

I had frittered away over the years –

(down to the last scraps and tittles) –

recouped by the posture and demeanor

of your body humbly kneeling before His chair.

Lighting a candle with a candle

in the heart of this late autumn evening.

O child of God, your Beloved comes to you

in countless and ingenious, multifarious ways.