Candle Tea

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Stained-glass after sundown warrants
little awe.  Burnished sills gleam,
the only source of luster.
Plum-colored saints and smoked angels
cannot ignite even the most-willing:
flat counselors toned-down
to leaded outlines of slight majesty.
When the sixth hour tolls,
the altar boy fires candles.
Halos flicker over oak draped
with red and white paraments.
Within taper-lit windows,
ashen scrolls and the lambs glows.
Promptly, Christmas Eve verses begin.

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Sam Barbee has a new collection, Apertures of Voluptuous Force (2022, Redhawk Publishing).  Plus three previous poetry collections, including That Rain We Needed (2016, Press 53), and, Uncommon Book of Prayer (2021, Main Street Rag) which chronicles travels in England.  He is a two-time Pushcart nominee.

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