Candlemas Snowdrops

Snowdrops, which usually appear towards the end of January, have long been associated with Candlemas. Their lantern flowers are a symbol of the light of Christ shining in the darkness of the world.

When the days drag on and the nights hang heavy
When the weight of the world is already a burden we struggle to bear
When we’re painfully aware of the barriers between us,
When six feet feels like light years
And we wish that our loved ones were right here
In the darkness the flame flickers on

When the tears fall so freely at nothing at all
And a day can be made by a call from a friend
When we spend our time locked in, locked down, locked apart
And our hearts ache with loss for the world that once was
Or because of what might have been
In the darkness the flame flickers on

When the ground, like our grief, is frozen and bare
When the floods swirl around and the air fills with mist
So we can’t see what lies in the distance
And our very existence requires a persistence
That’s taking its toll, when it’s hard to feel whole
In the darkness the flame flickers on

Because buried beneath the bare surface of earth
Is a seedbank of hope
As the Candlemas snowdrops defiantly show
What their Christ-light lanterns can do
As they break through and make the soil sing
And they bring the first glimmers of spring
A reminder that this too shall pass.
Just as winter is defeated by a flower in the grass
So at long last will our long frost melt
And the darkness we’ve felt for so long will be gone
And the Christ-light flame flickers on.

Rich Clarkson, January 2021