Bend the knee and leave the old damage behind.
It is resolved
Or it is not.
It is forgiven
Or it is not.
In any case
Those gates are shut.
Walk into this next year
And acknowledge the new suffering.
The Earth begs for a rest
And it is up to us to help,
This is our covenant.
And it’s not enough to live small,
This year we must act big.
Aleinu.
Blessed Holy Wholeness,
During the month of Elul we ponder and remember,
An illusion of thoughtfulness,
Because underneath the meek apologies lie
Obsession
Resentment
And embarrassments that do
Whatever it is that
Hate
Lies
And ignorance do
To help us create the past.
During the Shmita year the field lies fallow,
An illusion of rest,
Because underneath the lumpy dirt lie
Microbes
And worms
And burrowing creatures that do
Whatever it is that
Tefillah
Tzedukah
And Teshuvah do
To help us create the future.
We’re sorry, blessed One-ness,
But
On Selichot,
After this time of fear and wild hope,
We may not be able to
Find room in our hearts
For the haters and the liars and the idiots.
But
On Erev Rosh Hashanah,
In honor of the coming Shmita year,
We might still find
There is room in our hearts
For microbes and worms and maybe a gopher or two.
Amen
(Drawing © Mike Cockrill)
