CANDLEMAS
They came, as called, according to the Law.
Though they were poor and had to keep things simple,
They moved in grace, in quietness, in awe,
For God was coming with them to His temple.
Amidst the outer court’s commercial bustle
They’d waited hours, enduring shouts and shoves,
Buyers and sellers, sensing one more hustle,
Had made a killing on the two young doves.
They come at last with us to Candlemas
And keep the day the prophecies came true
We glimpse with them, amidst our busyness,
The peace that Simeon and Anna knew.
For Candlemas still keeps His kindled light,
Against the dark our Saviour’s face is bright.
-Malcolm Guite
Would you like to hear the poet read his sonnet? Click here: “A Sonnet for Candlemas.”
Gladsome Lights 
I remember hearing Guite’s voice here previously and enjoying his voice so much. For quite a few years now I’ve tried to observe Candlemas Day in my home, lighting candles as I still think about Christ as a baby before Easter time approaches. I liked hearing the poem read and thinking about the Saviour’s face bright in the dark.
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I was going to put away the small Christmas trees we have, finally, but I thought it appropriate to leave them on this day of light.
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This is a wonderful poem in so many ways. Among other things, I like how it evokes the reality of the “hustle and bustle” around the Temple in those days, something we rarely stop to imagine when we think of this Feast. And there is “my” Anna, with the prophetic scroll in her hand!
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