Sixteen candles burn, bright and beautiful.

Her last look will forever be
Etched in the depths of my soul.
I remember her sparkling face,
Those bright blue eyes, golden hair.
But that was before,
Before they took it away.
Like the waves sweep away
The sands on a beach,
They swept away her soul.

Sixteen candles burn, finding destiny.

Solemn faces flood the church.
Dull eyes, open mouths,
Sharp looks, soft moans
Melt away in the flame
Of the wooden coffin.

Sixteen candles burn, her face in each one.

Now, they shuffle to the coffin,
The girls she'd known forever.
But in the broken mirror, they have checked
Their masks of sorrow and surprise.

Sixteen candles burn, one for each her years.

"That's her sister," the whispers echo,
"Sorry for your loss, sorry for your loss."

Sixteen candles burn, fighting icy winds.

They check their looks as they try to hide
The fear and guilt that rise like smoky columns,
Fed by the fire of their contempt.

Sixteen candles burn, flickering, dying.

Icy hearts fueled by cowardice,
Huddling together, whispering together,
Fling their wrongs to the waves.

Sixteen candles burn, struggling, struggling, gone.

In the misty air outside,
The tolling of the bell
Comes through loud and clear,
"Why, why, why?"
And her last words echo,
"The mirror must be broken
For I see eyes too small and eyes too big,
Lips too wide and lips too narrow.
I don't know how, but it must be true
For that's what they say.
The mirror must be broken,
All I know is it's pierced me too sharply.
But, oh my baby sister, promise me
You'll never believe the broken mirror."

Sixteen candles burnt, leaving the ashes
Of an ocean.