Zane loved candles. He had different scents, different sizes, different containers to which he would choose one to light, or several, depending on his mood. His candles were his message to the night skies that he was awake and aware of the universal magic. I have ceremoniously burnt his candles over the years, leaving a little bit of each to which I have stored in a paper bag. This year I have repurposed them in honor of Candle Lighting Day.
My daughter and I bought small vases and wicks and a pot. We chose the candle stubs of white, pink, and red and placed them in the pot. We melted them and poured the new color into the vases and set them to cool.
I had a lot of fun doing this. Repurposing what Zane had lit years ago. Keeping his favorite scents and melting them into another form of ‘life’ to enjoy over again. It was easy and yet so very sentimental.
This year’s tradition of lighting a candle in honor of our children who have passed, I will use the beautiful illumination of Zane’s recycled candles. The flame, glowing into the dark night for Zane, and for the children of friends who walk this path with me.
Taking your memories, the pieces left behind,
putting them into a pot, stirring them gently together to melt,
to liquify and turn a new color, a soft holiday shade.
Pouring them into unbroken vessels to cool,
they take a newfound and beautiful form,
a new glow that will light the room
and fill it with a scent of spice and cedar.
How beautiful, how fun it was
to create a different beginning
from something you once enjoyed
that I will, we will,
now enjoy.
The irony is not lost
how the candle you once burned,
sending your thoughts to the dark night skies,
now burn anew, filled with a reincarnated energy
as if to answer you
‘We are still here.’
Alas, each flame that flickers,
millions across the globe,
has the same message.
If the tears, we cry could beckon your return…
The candles soft glow reminding the Universe,
our hearts will always ache for the warm light
of our children’s earthly presence.
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