Abie Rotenberg-Teardrop
In a one room apartment, somewhere in the city
A story of magic unfolds
There lived an old widow without any children
Abandoned, forgotten, alone
And she lived with the memories of barbed wire fences
And darkness invading her dreams
Oh, if ever a woman had a reason to cry
Then surely the woman was she
But never did she shed a tear
She asked for no answers, had nothing to fear
Well it happened one Friday, there just was no money
Her table bare, covered in white
But she found a few pennies and bought a small candle
Her Shabbos would still have its light
And she lit the lone candle, recited the bracha
The deepest of joys in her heart
When a gust of wind blew through a crack in the window
The flame once so bright had gone dark
This time the pain was so great
She tried to hold it back but it was too late
There was a teardrop formed on the edge of her eye
It rolled down her cheek, heading straight for the candle
As if with a mind of its own
Touching the wick, the drop burst out in flames
Once more there was light in her home
No more could she hold back the tears
She cried out the sorrow of so many years
G-d’s love is hidden, in time we’ll know why
But the heavens had told her it’s all right to cry