Tanmayi Oak

My dear friends in Gaza,
I won't say I understand how you might be feeling because I don't really know how it is when one is surrounded by war. The terror that you are facing is unfortunate and all I can do sitting here in India is to pray to the God that the war ends soon and you get your peace back. In the hope that the following lines inspire you in some way to cope with the war situation-

The Candle

She woke up one night, her eyes were in tears,
She felt cold inside, tormented by fears.
The thick woolen blanket would not keep her warm;
The wind seemed to carry the seeds of a storm.
She was on her own, with no one around,
She trembled and jumped at each little sound.
Old nightmares rose from the mist of the past
To fill her with terror: “This night is your last”.
She tried to be brave, but a voice in her head
Was screaming in anguish: “Give up! You are dead!”
A sense of negation was sinking in all
The forces of darkness were huge; she was small.
“My Lord, I am frightened, will this be my end?
I’ve no one to save me, no lover, no friend.
My dreams come to haunt me. It’s all déjà vu.
I’m so lost and lonely. My Lord, where are You?”
She looked at the candle, its flame seemed to say:
“My child, don’t be frightened, I won’t go away.
No demon can touch you, to Me you belong.
No evil can harm you, with Me you are strong.
You see? It’s so simple. Just look at the flame.
The shadows are shifting but I am the same.
Wherever my light is, the darkness is gone.
For never can darkness and light be as one.
When one is within you, the other’s no more
One walks in, the other walks out of the door.
When dawn fills you deeply, the night falls apart,
For never can both be contained in a heart.
Just keep the door open and let my light in
No demon can face Me, out there or within.
Your candle is burning, there’s nothing to fear,
Just call Me, beloved, and I will be here.
The darkness seems endless, but it is not so.
Its trick is to make you believe it won’t go.
But once you have called Me, its power is lost,
When summer is blooming, there’s no room for frost.
When faith says its prayer, no demon can stay,
For night cannot cover the light of the day."