PRIDE WEEKEND

A River of Candles

 

From the torpid heat

The night brought

Moonlight and fireflies,

Belying the heavy weight of day

With the scent of roses

And

The play of sweet wild phlox

In  blue shadowed depths

With white, pink and violet blooms

Growing in the floral rooms

Of the deserted orchard

At the edge of the marsh.

*

Dawn rises

With a soft purple hue

As those shadows in the dream

Remember the river of candles

Which once seemed

The bleeding hearts of thousands

Who carried sorrow in tiny flames

Up the length of Market Street

And

Whose eyes flickering with light

Made brilliant the night

With tears

That honored  the dead

And

Brought some relief of our terrible grief.