Poem: Angel’s Candle

“Angel’s Candle” 

Advent and the snow just fell

Outside the window where it is dark

And cold and there are people

So many people there

Where do they go — Do they not know

That the dark and cold will kill 

Them like a king’s command

All he does is wave a hand

And a slow wave from his order

Sweeps across the land

And one by one the innocents fall

Like flakes in a storm 

and the crystal bodies pile

Up in banks shoved by trucks

And left there bleeding

Water into the gutters as time 

Passes slowly and swiftly 

We sing that peace flows

Like a river and love will light

The world but in the end it snows

As it always has and always will

When you live where I do 

In a land that enters winter

As if it were war. 

According to one website, On the fourth week of Advent, we light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of our Savior. This final candle, the “Angel’s Candle,” symbolizes peace. It reminds us of the message of the angels: “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.”

I started writing this poem with nothing in my head so I looked outside. It is the conclusion of the third week of advent and we light the fourth this coming Sunday. I thought of the homeless who are outside who have no shelter. I thought of hospital workers who need to get to work no matter what the weather. And then I thought of all the acts of mercy that have still yet to be done. And the end of the year is closing in on us.