Lanterns

by Sue Stone

In the darkness

I grope,

stumbling across the rocks and shards

that cannot give me meaning,

broken long ago

by a single act,

an irrevocable choice.

And yet

you chose to puncture that darkness

with the depths of your love,

bright,

shining like a beacon.

cross-shaped,

carried in the hearts and souls

of those who love you.

Make me a lantern, too,

let me be one who carries that light

until all my dross is burned away,

and all that remains

has been fully tranformed.