His Candle

His candle burns beside me

A memorial to his light

Warmth and energy expanding

Kicking stretching glee

I do not feel him now

Within her womb empty

The kicking has stopped

And the candle burns

I am a father now

To a lost child, why?

I am a father now to

A memory, a prayer

I am a father now in

Title alone, but what role?

Was I a good father?

Did I do it right?

Where is the child

I would have held

in the night? Gone

And the candle burns

How can I feel now

That I have sealed them away

I can't find the screams that

Echo in my head all day

Silent is my pain, hidden

With brick and mortar

I did secure within

Safe within my shelter

Strong and protective

Crying on my walls

And the candle burns

How do I express the pain

That lasts forever to

The one I love who endures

The same?

Fair it isn't, nor right

To hold her close as she

Cries away the night

Mourning the loss of our

child. So small and dear

I hold back, supportive

And nurturing, trembling in fear

And the candle burns

Each night is a struggle

And the candle burns