Vashti says No (2026 version)

Ladies, get me some water.

What happened? I’ll tell you.

He summoned me,

That old demented bully, 

He wants to show me off naked to his cronies!

Absurd.

I didn’t think

I just answered. 

I said to the messenger,

Tell him, Vashti says No. 

Back comes the messenger, just a kid,

Poor thing, I feel for him because 

When the disgusting idiot, my husband

Heard of my refusal,

He exploded. 

So, it’s official: Queen Vashti is

Divorced and banished:

Make room for the next one!

Hmph! Do I care?

Tell him, Vashti says No.

Now what? What do I do?

So boring.

If not magnificent, what will I be?

Merely a princess of Babylon,

Kidnapped as a girl by Darius of Persia,

Trafficked to his idiot son to marry?

So from now on I will

Only be merely fabulous me?

So interesting. 

Tell him, Vashti says No. 

The kid comes back with a black eye, 

And a message from my brand new ex:

Beloved Wife! I’m in such a good mood!

Put on your crown and parade your beautiful body!

Beg for forgiveness and we will party

In my giant new gold ballroom

With all my billionaire friends!

I give the poor boy an aspirin. 

Remember to duck, I say,

When you tell the king, Vashti says No. 

Maybe I’ll cut off my long black hair, 

Maybe I’ll burn all my beautiful clothes.

Maybe I’ll stop wearing make up. 

Maybe I’ll get fat. Hah!

Show this off, Buster. 

You know, I’ve got a lovely palace in the country,

I think I”ll plant tomatoes.

Maybe I’ll take a lover

And then make a documentary

Titled, “Vashti Says No”. 

The boy is back, I think his arm is broken.

He shakes and cries as he tells me,

The old man wants my crown,

For the succeeding wife-to-be. 

My crown?! The boy trembles. I laugh. 

This ugly vulgar thing?

The creep does love his shiny garish crap. 

Take it! Better her than me! 

Curse Vashti when you hand it to him, 

That might save your life

As Vashti says No.  

Here’s some sisterly good advice for the next one:

Let him pretend to be a genius!

Give him gold prizes, doesn’t matter what for,

He loves his fake awards.  

Do what you got to do 

But get him drunk first, it goes faster.

Oh and watch out for that creepy bald toad, Haman, 

He really hates immigrants. 

Say yes if you must but please, honey,

Tell him, Vashti says No.               

 

A Purim Prayer

 

Blessed Holy Wholeness,

Sometimes we win. 

Sometimes when we’re not winning 

We survive by telling stories about winning. 

We like stories with happy endings but

Purim is not a story with a happy ending 

Because though our people don’t die

Lots of other innocent people do

And we killed them

In revenge

For someone else’s actions. 

Shameful. 

Sometimes we lose when we win. 

Help us do better. 

Amen.  

Before You Go

 

Esther fasted before she went. 

You drink coffee 

Charge the phone

Pack cash, hand warmers,

Goggles, meds in case of arrest and

Soapy water for the pepper spray. 

Get out the whistle

Make a sign

Learn new songs

Remember your ID

Put on your tallit. 

Give thanks for your neighbors 

Know your rights in case you’re detained 

Say a prayer or two

Tell people you love that you love them

Write a will. 

Esther fasted but please 

Eat something before you go,

You need your strength.  

Be safe. 

Thank you. 

To This I Pledge

 

“Three Fingers: Represent the three parts of the Girl Scout Promise (Honor God/Country, Help People, Live the Law). 

Thumb & Pinky: The thumb holding the pinky symbolizes the bond of sisterhood, showing how the strong (thumb) protect the weak (pinky) and all Scouts stick together.” 

My favorite thing about being a Girl Scout 

was when i wore my green uniform to school

 on days we had meetings. 

All classes said the pledge of allegiance 

every morning, 

placing our hands over our hearts 

as we honored the flag. 

But when I had on my green uniform on I would salute!   

So cool, thumb and pinky touching , 

three middle fingers upright. 

I loved the drama and the patriotism 

and my country 

and freedom. 

I’m thinking about 

how proud I was to salute the flag

as I contemplate the detention centers 

and beatings and murder and invasions 

and the possibility of martial law. 

Shame on them. 

Blessed Breath of the Universe,

I pledge myself again

To

Honor God and Country 

Help People

Live The Law

Protect the Weak

Stick Together

Amen

We See You

For those who were just trying to make a buck

For those who enjoy inflicting pain

For those who know better but do worse,

We see you. 

You kill, you hate, you bully, you kidnap, 

But we see you. 

You walk free for now

But we saw you. 

We pray for justice. 

See you in court  

Someday. 

Amen

The Headline

The headline read,

“This Is Worse Than You Can Imagine!!!!”

A headline for the unobservant and

Under engaged

A headline for privileged amateurs 

Or the willfully ignorant. 

Because 

We have seen the worst

And what we haven’t seen we can easily imagine. 

We have seen the thugs and the bullies

We have seen the disease and the deaths 

We have seen the unashamed racism. 

We’ve heard the insults and misogyny,

The kneejerk Islamophobia and

The ancient antisemitism. 

We suffer the shitty art and the golden vulgarity and

The disfigured faces. 

But yes, it can get worse. 

Blessed Holy Wholeness 

We pray for the strength to endure the worsening worst

So that we may survive to build and rebuild the best. 

Amen

PRAYER TO THOSE LIGHTING CANDLES

 

Happy Hanukkah!

Blessed be the Maccabees who keep watch!

The ones who blow whistles,

The ones who swarm the bullies and

Stand in front of their cars,

The ones who video the atrocities 

And the ones who know right from wrong. 

May they be safe while making their good trouble.  

Happy Hanukkah!

Blessed be the Maccabees who work through the system!

The ones who run for office and vote,

The ones who strike and boycott 

The ones who find and tell truth,

The ones who follow due process 

And the ones who demonstrate and civilly disobey.  

May all their tools work in this battle against evil. 

Happy Hanukkah!

Blessed be the Maccabees who keep the candles burning!

The ones who use religion to love and heal,

The ones who honor diversity and create unity,

The ones who teach kindness,

The scientists and librarians who persevere 

And the ones who mock the enemy and help us laugh. 

May they continue to speak freely. 

Happy Hanukkah!

Blessed be all these Maccabees and more

As they organize and create

For our city

For our country 

For all people

For freedom and the future!

Light your candles and join them. 

Amen 

At The End of The Standing Prayer

 

Art by Mike Cockrill

Standing, tired, knees hurting,

Listening to the room of silent prayer,

Hidden in my tallit, mumbling to

The old white man on a throne in the white clouds, 

Privilege incarnate,

A God for children of another era. Nah. 

Who or what listens to me now?

Talking to myself, I guess, 

Until I can sit down. But then

I imagine my ideal Listener—

All antiquity, quirks and holy one-ness,

I hear them in the whispers of the liturgy. 

I love the mystery 

And the boredom 

And the hope

In our loud quiet. 

Praying to an idea I don’t believe in,

I can’t shut up.

Help us!

We’re scared. 

We’re in danger. 

We’re in shock. 

Yet here we are, eyes closed and swaying,

Still holding ourselves to

Dreams of logic and compassion

And conversations with the divine. 

We must be brave. 

Standing in noisy silent prayer 

I step back in ritual 

I step back in jest

I step back in grief

I bow in awe. 

Blessed Holy Wholeness!

Amen. 

Now, my Listener,

May I sit?