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'The Candle' Poem

This is a poem based on an original poem by Mary Hathaway. It has been slightly amended and developed so that it reads a little more effectively than the original (well, hopefully!)

THE CANDLE (based on an original poem by Mary Hathaway)

Last night I took a candle to my room
To watch the curving beauty of the flame against the dark
But when I turned, I was amazed how light the darkness became
Could that much light come from one small flame?

And when I blew the candle out
How deep the darkness around about

And I remembered long ago in a manger
Lay the greatest candle of them all
A newborn child
Helpless and so vulnerable
How could this tiny flame defend himself
Against the winds of life and strife?

And yet in that small spark of love
Lay the light that would illuminate the world
The light that darkness cannot overcome: God's own Son

And we are part of that great light!

Sometimes the world is dark
Sad and lonely and stark
News of chaos and calamity
Violence and every kind of sin
Wrecking people's lives without and within
The crying of human need while others live in wanton greed

Shall I throw my love away?
It is so pitifully small
What use is my small candle against so great a darkness?
But last night I took a candle to my room
To watch the curving beauty of the flame, again
Against the dark.
And when I turned I was amazed
How light the darkness had become
For trusting in God's own Son, I burned brightly
As His life became my life and shone its love all around