O candle! loaned to me a while
To light thy Master’s house,
Thou must learn to bear and burn —
I shall not blow thee out.

For three and twenty years thy light
This little room adorned;
And should no other walls receive
Its warmth, still thou must burn.

O burn for him! who chose to bear
The dark and be thy Light.
He shall tend thy burning wick
Till grief become delight.

10.27.22