sanctuary

[ajcohen613]

sanctuary

Candles flicker
with begged forgiveness, "begged forgiveness" works nicely. Very simple yet effective move: object as emotional/expressive medium.

each tender wick 
a glowing reminder, This is my least favorite section, which isn't saying much since it's still pretty good. Something about "tender wick" and "glowing reminder"...I feel like there must be ways to spruce these lines up while maintaining the brevity.

each drop of wax
a tear sliding down
the father's cheek. Haunting imagery, really. Hot wax, tears... truly sad. Two scenes at the same time. Nice move.

Having lit them all,
I wait for him to come. I like how the subjective "I" only comes in at the end. The remainder of the poem feels rather removed from the situation, and this ending nicely brings it all back to you, the author.

Hope the critique helps. Great Poem.