Breathing Inspiration

Let Faith Reign

When society is upended,

and people are tormented,

take heart in your faith,

don’t let your soul go to waste;

there will be an opportunity

to fly into the wind.

Let faith reign in your heart,

don’t pretend to play the part,

when the mind is sincere,

and the pathway is clear,

there will be a sunrise on the horizon

lighting up a brand new day.

Let’s dare not be hesitant,

when the chance prevails,

to take that first step into the light,

the door will be wide open,

for your tired soul that appears to be broken,

yet, will find renewal on the journey

to a safe haven.

Heaven Awaits Us

Living in the belly of the beast,

rising up from the vacant grave,

reaching towards the light from the East,

an angel from Heaven appears,

with a mission to save.

Crying out from a land of tears,

dying to ourselves every day,

casting away all of our fears,

gaining ground over the years,

as the enemy retreats the other way.

—– —– —–

Opening up to the possibility,

of hope becoming permanently ingrained,

indelible as ink, on a deed of civility,

or the silver lining of a cloud,

that is translucent with sunbeams.

The sunflowers in the land of the living,

sway in tune with a heavenly chorus of angels,

and a myriad of people singing

the refrain of the song of Moses,

shining like golden bells.

Love Conquers All

All of the firebrands that you have thrown at us,

have been deflected, landed in fertile soil, and,

transformed into pillars of truth to guide our lives.

The blazing torches of lies, brandished in our faces,

have been quenched by the streams of sanctity,

and extinguished by waters from the well of salvation.

We have been inoculated against future deception,

and strengthened against the cunning of the Great Deceiver.

We have regained our sanity within a world of chaos.

We put one foot forward each and every day,

on the road towards freedom from the wreckage,

of the past, our country under duress

at the hands of our arch nemesis.

When the light appeared, our bonds were loosened,

our nightmares diminished, and new horizons emerged.

Carried away upon the wings of eagles to new vistas,

we have tread upon the tail of the serpent,

and danced amongst our people reborn.

Beyond Oblivion

At the sound of the shofar,

we will respond to the call,

“Prepare the way for the King.”

The masquerade will be over,

when darkness will no longer fall

upon the face of the earth.

At the beginning of dawn,

when the first light will appear

on the new horizon,

we will be given vision and insight,

to see beyond the mirror of self,

into the eyes of the divine.

dverse prompt

Tears

Each teardrop from Shomayim,

splashes into the reservoir of dreams,

ripples out in concentric circles,

across the dismayed nations,

into the hearts of mankind.

Our tears are His, pouring through us,

enabling us to retain our own sense of humanity;

for without tears, there are only stifled emotions,

wherein pain endures, unless expressed in words.

—– —– —– —– —– —–

I shall not refrain from writing,

nor from dwelling on what is uniquely tragic,

as long as my sense of compassion outweighs

any negative feelings that may arise,

in response to this burden, that I bear.

Such is our faithfulness towards G-d as well –

that He will bestow upon us a measure of faith,

commensurate with our ability to serve Him.

Butterflies

Amongst the fields of sunflowers,

dreaming in the winds of change,

butterflies roam, partaking of the nectar.

Sweet dreams interrupted by a shift

in the pleasant breezes,

accompanied by dark clouds.

Nectar runs dry, and petals wilt,

as the resting places

of the fragile two-winged creatures,

disappear from the fields.

How many Ukrainian refugees,

who have taken flight,

from the devastation,

will be blessed with a new beginning,

in faraway places, where safety resides,

miles away from their homes?

—– —– —– —–

My ancestors, with prescient insight,

migrated across the Atlantic Ocean,

before the flames of the Shoah

engulfed Bolechov, and took the lives

of those who remained in the shtetl.

Ghosts of the past cry out,

Release me, into the wind,

so that our memories

will not be forgotten.

Past Memories, Current Events

My heart is overflowing,

teeming with complex emotions,

and my pen, figuratively speaking,

is writing (typing out) words again,

in response to the internal reservoir,

of all that remains to be said.

My muse? Ineffable, for He Knows all,

and is above and beyond all muses.

So, redeemed, is each word that I reckon,

as not my own, rather, from deep within,

a pool of reflection, tinged with a conscience,

and a consciousness, stemming

from the part of mankind’s soul,

that is connected to the Divine.

Additionally, I do not even know

how I can factor into the equation,

that Bolekhiv, my ancestral hometown,

is fifty-eight miles south of Lviv,

where several dozen of my relatives

were buried in mass graves,

during the Shoah.

Reverberations

Poems for Ukraine

Cold railing on platform,

separates us, as tears flow,

behind window of train.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Debris, scattered everywhere,

as if a fanfare of wind and tempest

blew through the city, proclaiming

the acharis hayomim.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

No one is here to witness,

the empty streets, and silent buildings;

while we shelter beneath the earth,

huddled together in blankets.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

In the not-so-distant past,

we were deported for our faith,

endless tracks led nowhere.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

In the not-so-distant tomorrow,

we will be praying for the light of redemption,

when darkness covers the land.

The Ubiquitous Sign

Because of the bitterness of the past,

we keep our pain stifled underneath our hats;

to know that G-d is above us, and we below,

we cover our head with a yarmulke.

In times of challenge, when strong winds blow,

we are gladdened to have fastened our kippah,

so that we may continue to aspire higher

in prayer, while remaining steadfast in our attire.

When the seas of turmoil threaten to engulf us,

we are faced with a choice: to wear or not to wear,

the symbol of humility that encompasses our identity,

making our faith visible to all, whether friend or foe.

More than a religious insignia,

each and every yarmulke is unique,

an individual expression of the whole,

composite of many different styles.

The black-felt yarmulke of the Chassidim,

cotton or suede variety, of the modern orthodox,

religious Zionists, conservative or reform Jews;

we are all part of K’lal Yisrael.

dVerse prompt

Faithful Pledge

In peace, I rest my soul at twilight,

my heart satiated with your word.

Israel’s flag of blue and white,

and Ukraine’s blue and yellow unfurled.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

A profound solidarity, exemplified;

all of the nations contribute support,

hoping all wounds will be remedied,

amongst the people in body, mind, and heart.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

All who seek to be a blessing to others

must give from the depths of the soul,

so as to transcend our selfishness

for the sake of nurturing all.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Some have pledged their lives,

others have reignited their faith,

still more have seen the light,

a reason to stand against wrath.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Even more of us give what we can,

and refrain from ignoring the pain,

of the voiceless and downtrodden,

all of us humans at heart the same.