The Lantern bazaar
The Lantern Bazaar on the First Day of spring,
The day set aside for the Covenant King.
The auburn lights of the Lantern Bazaar twinkled and danced, and eccentric affair,
Cakes in great ovens, simmering stews, the smells of the festival filling the air,
Minstrels performed as they walked through the fields,
Symbols and chimes on their ankles and arms,
Tents of magenta, embroidered in gold, displaying the market’s assortment of charms.
With long silken streamers that flapped in the breeze, a stunning pavilion of indigo blue,
Inside were the cherished performer’s extravagant programs to view,
The tables were covered in petals. The meadow, a blanket of tents,
At dusk they’d light their lanterns,
And sing to the Covenant Prince.
Catherine Elizabeth, dressed in a gown of shimmering purple and grey,
The air was charged with excitement…her toe tapping gave her away.
Urging the carriage “faster”; she was late, but she hurried along.
The minstrels were already singing the refrain to the “The Patriot Song.”
Her sister was waiting,
Kimber Lea James,
When Catherine arrived they’d commence with the games.
There’s my own! My sister, friend,
With whom I march the great parade,
She sees me and she knows me,
She looks beyond the masquerade.
There’s my own! The party starts,
Alike two minds, alike two hearts,
A love like ours will never end…
The love between a sister, friend.
Hours of dancing, of games, and of joking,
They sat for the meal, with traditional fare,
The sun started falling and dusk started setting,
The lanterns were lit with intention and care.
Lighting the lantern, promoting the glow, invading the darkness, the ultimate show.
The Lanterns, each a fingerprint, unique and personal, a prize,
Formed and cared for by each soul- diverse in beauty, strength and size,
Some were formed of precious stone, jeweled, with intricate design,
Other lanterns made of bone, humble, low, but meant to shine.
The King on the mountain observed the Bazaar and He watched the sunshine go,
Beholding the lights in the meadow, when the match set the Lanterns aglow.
The lights in each lantern were placed inside,
Some were a passionate flame,
Some nothing more than a twinkle,
Each light wasn’t ‘one in the same’.
Some were simply opaque orbs,
Some heavy lanterns were dark,
A few of the beautiful lanterns,
When lit, wouldn’t carry a spark.
Others were lit and shone keenly,
Then instantly started to fade…
And some of the lanterns, when set to the match,
Turned colors of every shade…
Studying her little lantern, Catherine noticed opal gems,
Crystal rocks embedded in the metal on the base,
Copper leaves were woven through the frame that held the glass,
Beveled, there was etching on the glass upon the face.
Similar to Kimber’s lantern, different leaves and different stones,
Family heirlooms given by beloved Mother Grand,
To each she gave instructions when the lantern was bestowed,
“Allow the King to light the little lantern in your hand.”
And as for Mother Grand herself, her last Bazaar was years ago,
She stood between the daughters and she set her humble lamp aglow,
Humble lantern, little flame…flicker, flicker…normal size,
Flicker, flicker…Growing brighter right before their very eyes.
Humble lantern, disappearing, flicker, flicker- grew the Flame,
Waist… then shoulder… overhead…She raised the Light and spoke His Name.
Flicker, flicker without color, pure and bright and not her own,
It made no concession to darkness…Allegiance to King and to throne.
And she whispered to Catherine and to Kimber Lea,
“The Light in the lantern is Him and not me,
Seek ye the King’s Light, His Light is His own,
There’s only one Light of the King on the throne.”
Kimber first to strike a match: She urged her lantern wick to catch.
Catherine Elizabeth noticed the hue,
Kimber Lea’s light turned an indigo blue.
And Catherine Elizabeth’s lantern did too.