Advent Sonnet Three

A candle flickers in the wind that blows
With fury, and with frigid teeth that gnaw
Away at skin and bone; the tree that grows
Outside my window creaks and groans, the maw
Of winter wrapped around its soul.  The light
That day by day grows dimmer as the wick,
Aglow with flame, fights on against the might
Of icy rain and snow that falls in thick
White layers on the ground.  The sun has set;
An endless night has fallen on our lives
As sin-black evil taints us.  We have met
Our deepest fear, the death of soul it gives.
But even in the dark our light shines on -
A hope to face our night until the dawn.