A Dirge

I light this candle

in memory

of small bright-eyed children

who were waiting for Santa

until another man came.

And for his soul, too,

damaged  terribly

somewhere along the way.

How to ease this ache

in our collective consciousness?

May we wrap our loving thoughts

around

those good folk

suffering unimaginable grief

today,
so they are blanketed,
and held,
and know that 
they are not alone. 

May its flame remind us

to keep coming from love

and not from fear.
Even when that
is the hardest thing to do.

May its glow shine

along with so many others

across this planet

that we shift from darkness

into light so bright

we all

Wake Up.