We light a candle as memorial because
its light helps us to see full clear,
even in the darkest times
of loss, tragedy and awkward memory.
Like our bodies that start in womb
and then go to the eternity of the grave,
the candle burns from perfect form to absent end,
so that we not only see in the darkness,
but see ourselves and others truly
and honestly, without pretence,
as waxy melting beings.
We are indeed mortal,
temporal and vulnerable,
lighting the flame of others
with compassion and love,
or extinguishing it with hate.
Through reflecting openly
on the mysteries
of this one and only life that
becomes the candle,
becomes the flame
we see the truth.
Let us look deep into the candle;
let us look with eyes wide open,
and see ourselves in its flames
and understand our one destiny
as soot in the smoke
that rises out to the whole earth.
30/11/2017