Lent: Poem - These Forty Days

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I knew what was coming...
I came into the space knowing how it was to end...
I didn't want it to happen...
I couldn't stomach the thought...
I could feel uneasiness grow as each candle was extinguished...
I wanted to stand and shout, "No!"...

One candle remained...
One light in a darkened room...
One source of hope...
One lone beacon showing the way...
One last symbol of possibility...
One final light extinguished...

Darkness alone...
Emptiness alone...
Sorrow alone...
Anguish alone...
Remorse alone...
Alone...

My God...
My God...
Why...
Melted...
Wax...
Dust...

Thursday's last gathering...
Thursday's desertion...
Friday's way...
Friday's death...
Saturday's gloom...
Saturday's separation...

This sojourn...
These forty days...
This journey of repentance...
These moments of denial...
This dusty road...
These long arduous steps...

To be owned...
To be kept...
To be experienced...
To be cherished...
To be remembered...
To be lived...









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