Another poem for Chanukah
December 11, 2012
A poem by Aileen Lucia Fisher for Chanukah. (Today we're in day three of the eight day festival; we'll begin the fourth day tonight at sundown.)
Light the first of eight tonight—
the farthest candle to the right.Light the first and second, too,
when tomorrow's day is through.Then light three, and then light four—
every dusk one candle moreTill all eight burn bright and high,
honoring a day gone byWhen the Temple was restored,
rescued from the Syrian lord,And an eight-day feast proclaimed—
The Festival of Lights—well namedTo celebrate the joyous day
when we regained the right to pray
to our one God in our own way.
(Source: Light the Festive Candles, at the Poetry Foundation.) Wishing a joyous festival of lights to all who celebrate.