Candles at Sea

Short poem to my father

Candles at Sea

(to my father)

In Japan they place candles

In little paper boats

And push them down the river

To the sea;

Tiny cargoes of light,

They mark the memory

Of those who have gone before.

Here we light candles in front of

Stained glass windows

Candles locked into place by glass and metal.

Somehpw the idea of a candle

Bobbing on the water

Being carried by the whim

Of river and sea

Best fits the memory of a man

Who was a sailor at heart.

So here’s a candle for you dad.

We stand by the shore and watch it drift away,

Tiny, fragile

It heads off into the currents of time

Lighting the memories in our hearts.