Candles in the Night
By Jim Lowery

A heart broken by the death of a child can never be healed.
As parents we try every way that can be thought of to cope with the loss,
but the void will always be there.
At first that emptiness seems to take your breath away
and most times we wish it would.

This becomes different with the passage of time.
It never goes away, but at some point we learn to
live with it, and in fact this horrible feeling
becomes a lifeline of sorts.
One of our biggest fears is to forget our children.
Forget how they looked or how their voices sounded.
The smiles and tears that blur together to make a child.
This emptiness in effect becomes a constant yearning
to remember our children.

Our hearts force us to find ways to fill that void to
maintain our role as parents.
Some are as simple as visiting the cemetery
and some are as complex as changing our entire lives,
dedicated to the memory of our child.
In between are the many rituals we create or borrow from
others to honor the memories and to keep our child’s name alive.

Lighting a candle and saying a child’s name
keeps their memory burning bright.
It means we are struggling to cope with this
unwanted role of bereaved parent in the only
positive manner we can.
We will most certainly shed tears every time
and we will still miss our child,
but we are doing something that allows
the world to hear our child’s name and for
that one moment the candle means so much
more than anyone else could ever understand.

For a fleeting second that is our universe
and every memory we have comes
flooding back to us as we see the flame through tears,
distorting it into something magical.
It’s the only gift we can give our children.
This is as close as we can get to our child now.
A tiny, flickering flame that can warm
the heart and it’s nice to think that perhaps they can see it also.
It’s a beacon, our light in the window, our shining star in the darkness.
It’s an opening of our hearts and a way to share our grief.

We gather to honor the memories of our children and to share this bond of
lighting a candle for the children all over the world.
We miss them so much.

Beyond Dream’s Edge
By Debbie Dickinson

Babies in heaven play tonight
in a land beyond dream’s edge.
Instead of sand, they play with stardust,
getting glitter sprinkles on their hands.

Instead of coloring books,
they color rainbows
for God to place in the sky,
His promise to us below.

Instead of jumping rope,
they jump strands of sunlight,
braided strong by His might,
forever shining bright.

Instead of riding bikes,
they spread their wings
and fly to distant stars,
as all the angels sing.

Instead of snow slopes,
they slide down moonbeams,
iridescent glowing streams,
landing in heavenly greens.

Instead of TV,
they watch sunrises, sunsets,
and all that transpires in between,
secure that God knows best.

Instead of playing ball,
they catch the stars
before they fall,
loving the wonder of it all.

Instead of bouncing on beds,
they bounce on clouds.
Their laughter echoes about,
just beyond dream’s edge.

We meet at night in prayer.
I quietly wait to see them there,
golden halos on their heads,
in a land beyond dream’s edge.

May God grant you always,
A sunbeam to warm you
A moonbeam to charm you
A sheltering Angel
So nothing can harm you.
Laughter to cheer you,
Faithful friends near you.
And whenever you pray,
Heaven to hear you. 

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Light a Candle
Unknown

And I will light a candle for you,
To shatter all the darkness
And bless the little time we knew.
Like a beacon in the night,
The flame will burn and guide us on our way.
Oh, today I light a candle for you.

 Light a Candle
Light a candle for those we mourn.
Into a new life they will be born.
Do not look for them at the gravesite.
They are somewhere else radiating their beautiful light.
They have gone to a new world where there is no darkness, no pain.
Their light and essence will always remain.
Light a candle for those who have left this mortal place.
They are free to travel through time and space.
When we think of them, they are near.
When we sit in a beautiful garden. Their voices we hear.
When we listen to a divine symphony,
We close our eyes, their faces we see.
Light a candle for they have not really gone.
With each flickering flame, in your hearts they will always belong.
© A.Pell 24/08/2005