Twenty-Seven Candles

Twenty-Seven Candles
James Dinsmore

It’s fascinating to watch a candle burn,
And see the flames consume
Paraffin and cord and breath,
That floats about the room.

Entranced by a flickering wick,
I’m drawn into the flame;
To behold a bright performance,
That always ends the same.

Is there any useful light,
From such a feeble flame?
And if it burns in solitude,
Was it lit in vain?

Twenty-seven candles:
Dance before my eyes;
A token testimonial,
The passage of our lives.

Twenty-seven candles:
I tried to make them count;
For the beauty, truth and meaning
That life is all about.

Twenty-seven candles:
For ambition’s compromise;
Year’s of wasted energy,
I so bitterly despise.

With morbid fascination
I watch the candles burn;
Contemplating passing years,
And things I had to learn.


So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12