FLAME - one of my poems.

FLAME

I watched a candle shed its golden beam
Into the silent, darkening room,
A golden tear, a glittering spear
That struck out fiercely at the gathering gloom.
It flickered in the corners, throwing shadows wild
Reminding me of night-lights when I was but a child.
Huddled under blankets, lips and fists clenched tight
As if to protect me from the monsters made by fright.
From such a spark as this, first fire came
When man could barely stand erect
Nor form his name.
I watched the candle shed its mellow light
And thought of Him who came into the world one night
To show the way for all
And of how the light was taken
At the Son of God's downfall.
And yet, the faith He planted to confound his enemies
Has echoed ever louder, down twenty centuries.
Fire, sacred to the ancients
Candle, sacred still today
Which brings a calm that cannot be described
For, somehow, it is vibrant and alive
As life itself.
And yet, brings forth deep peace into the soul
When candle casts its incandescent thrall.

                                                      Copyright 2004.