I Lit No Candle Poem by Bernard Jess Sagpang

I walked along a road
Dusty and old
With an unlit candle in my pocket
Trying to find a shelter
Before the clouds cry in pain
And the night enslave me
With the coldest air

My unclothed hands
Find their time
Wrapped around each other
For comfort

I chilled and gasped
And stared at the sky
Prayed no rain
Prayed no flood on my feet

There I saw them
Little innocent children
They found their humble comfort
At the simplest embrace
Of the pavement
At peace
As they seemed in my eyes

Then my eyes went sailing for peace
For comfort my hands demanded
My hands embraced myself
As I veered away the sight
And care not

And so the rain fell
My hands embraced each other
As the children on the pavement
Wrapped themselves at each others arms
Asleep still
In the cold of the night

In the flooded street
And the drenched waiting sheds




I went home
Found peace for myself

Yet I did not have one
That night

I lit no candle
Even for a little light
Even for a little warmth
Even for a little touch
My hands were well able to do

I lit no candle
And that bothers me so!