“Shabbat Candles” [by Rosanna Warren]

They finger the darkness long after the plates are cleared

and because they’re lonely, multiply themselves

in the black window, bowing to company,

and exchange signals with the rising moon.

We’re asleep. God will put out the lights.

Ed. note: "Shabbat Candles" is from Rosanna Warren's brilliant new book, So Forth (Norton, 2020). Photo credit: Joel Cohen.
Rosanna Warren photo by Joel Cohen