Nine candles in the window
the antique clock chimes ten
I hear it's quiet ticking and
cars passing in the rain
the house has grown so quiet
my tinnitus seems loud
the candles are beginning
to burn down and gutter out
remembering my rabbis
Aryeh and Jonathan
I feel a surge of sadness
for all that might have been
the wicks have turned to glowing coals
the final candle flares
now I can join my wife in bed
and put aside my cares