It was her birthday.
Mommy was in the shower.
Tatty was at shul.
Bubby took Chani and Moshe to get dressed.
She was alone by the candles.
She pressed the match
To her lips
And whispered a prayer
Only the lord could hear.
She struck the match
Across the box.
She held the flame to her face,
But it did not burn her.
“Ner or, candle of light,
When will this golus end?”
The candle’s light
Flickered
Then
Died.

 

—  Emuna Naiditch
Yeshiva Girls School of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania