Still Flame

Poem by Alexis Ragan

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night — Exodus 13:21

There, in the window of my elder neighbor, 

stood a fire without flicker, glowing 

with a posture unwavering — 

 I sit savoring its stillness 

 because I have never seen

 something so sure, 

 so unphased by the

outside wind. 

That I may go by day 

and by night with

the steady mist

of Your might,

the torch

of Your light,

setting forth “shalom” for sojourners such as I,

 my never moving warmth…