The Brightest

I lit a candle for those who are gone.
I lit a candle for those who are forgotten;
for the abandoned and the forsaken,
for those who have never been found.

A candle for whoever waits but is found too late;
who waited until their last breath.
A candle for those who hoped there was someone,
whose pleas were never heard.

A candle for the lost,
and those who were made to be lost.
A beacon for those who disappeared,
and those who chose to disappear.

A candle for the sad ones,
for the grieving and sobbing,
for the one unmoving
by handkerchiefs and hugs.

A candle for the anxious,
the scared, and the numb;
a flicker for those in the dark,
in forced seclusion.

I lit a candle for those who have given up,
for the hopeless,
for those who are alone,
and those who feel alone in the crowd.

A light for the vulnerable,
for the fightless,
for your cat who still thinks of you
in her last moments.

Set ablaze the wick,
for warmth to those grown cold,
frostbitten by wind
and by life itself.

I light a candle
for those who can’t,
who don’t,
and who won’t.

A candle to the departed,
to those who wanna be dead,
been breathless for a while,
and been dead while still living.