They are quite unpredictable like funeral tears. 
The casket weighs down on a metallic stand in 
The middle of the compound. The building 
Is empty, the heart is empty, the palm fronds 
Over this brownish soil staining my shoes
Have seen tears trickle in silence down faces. 

The wind tries to snuff out the wick, but it resists. 
You clung to the breath gushing out your throat, 
Pulled by the cloaked reaper, but eventually it's 
Gone. You've seen tears trickle down wrinkled
And smooth faces. You've consoled and cried, 
With arms tight around a wounded shoulder. 
Then, the breath soothed in melodic syllables. 
You're clinging to the wind, the candle resists.

But the gusts gush too strong, the flame bends to 
Mourn. The leaves rustle on the acacia tree, 
The leaves rustle on the mango tree, The leaves
Pause to mourn. It wasn't the reaper calling. 
A bearded Jew picks you up like a prom date, 
His halo catching the pearls of your white dress. 
The fiery chariot makes your half smile shine, as you 
Look back at the tears to come, and say one last prayer. 

But the gusts really gush too strong on the wick, 
And the flames disappear to leave darkness. 
You're gone. 
We're torn. 
We reach for the wick, but notice the flame still 
Burns. The flame resists, our tears cannot. 
Our fears cannot. 
A fiery chariot
Took you away to a better place, but we are in 
A bad place. We wanted to hear your voice,
We wanted to hold you, not some wax and wick in wind. 
We wanted to own you, but life is for God's glory 
And glory is unpredictable like a candle in the wind

(c) nyonglema