The poem is titled “Illumination” (it’s by Merle Shain) and is quoted in the book Bedside Prayers by June Cotner:

It is better to light candles

than to curse the darkness.

It is better to plant seeds

than to accuse the earth.

The world needs all of our power

and love and energy,

and each of us has something that we can give.

The trick is to find it and use it,

to find it and give it away.

So there will always be more.

We can be lights for each other,

and through each other’s illumination

we will see the way.

Each of us is a seed,

a silent promise,

and it is always spring.