light a white candle
for mourning
for the blank
it leaves behind

do not worry
that your loss is smaller
than someone else’s
it is your loss
it is loss
and that is enough
is everything
is the weight of a thousand worlds

write your grief
in smoke
in tears
in ink the color
of heart’s blood
sit with your loss
feel it

maybe
you have lost
a love a friend a hope
maybe you have lost
a job a child a dream
maybe your loss
looks like a blessing
to someone else

it does not matter
you get to mourn it
no one gets to judge you here
here, you are safe
here, you may grieve

light a black candle
for the darkness
that never leaves
the darkness that seems like death
the darkness in which life begins
the darkness beneath the earth
where seeds germinate
the darkness of the womb
where children blossom
the darkness of the heart
where hope first takes root

speak your sorrow
to the listening air–
the missed opportunity
the lost soul
the last chance
this grief is yours
it belongs to you
it is part of you

light a green candle
for hope
for spring after winter
for violets after rain
purple tears in the green grass
know that your loss
is always
but that hope
is always, too
that you can have both
you must have both

life and death
grief and joy
loss and gain
they are all the same
they are two sides
of the same mystery
they are your inheritance
they are your strength