Christmas Caroling in Advent

Isabelle Gross

Hope is a dollar store candle

I clutch close to my chest.

It is cold around and dark above and slick beneath my feet,

the backs of my hands are growing numb,

yet my palms are warmed, and my fingertips nearly burnt,

for just a bit longer I will resist the safety of my mittens –

and the tiny flame flickers,

but the darkness has not overcome it.

So I carry on,

singing of joy and peace and love and faith,

and I gently guard with all my being

this light which has been given unto me.