Cup by Peter Waldor

A child doesn’t
understand sacrilege
and so sips some juice
from a memorial cup
and leaves it
to run off
to a forest where he
happens to place
a dead frog
on a boulder.
At the factory
they put too much
wax in each cup
so it burns longer
than the allotted 24 hours,
the mourner thinking
it’s a miracle.
Juice warms
to room temperature
where a candle once burned.


		Peter Waldor
		Cup
		A child doesn’t understand sacrilege and so sips some juice from a memorial cup and leaves it to run off to a forest where he happens to place a dead frog on a boulder. At the factory they put too much wax in each cup so it burns longer than the allotted 24 hours, the mourner thinking it’s a miracle. Juice warms to room temperature where a candle once burned.
		Peter Waldor is the author of Door to a Noisy Room (Alice James, 2008) which was a finalist for the 2009 National Jewish Book Award. His work has appeared in many journals, including the American Poetry Review and Mothering Magazine. He works in the insurance business and lives in northern New Jersey.
		© Peter Waldor All Rights Reserved