Our Hope

Ribon HaOlamim,

Master of the Worlds,

look down upon your children,

and hear our plea, for the sake of peace,

amongst Your diverse Creation.

You are One, and Your Name is One:

yet, not until the Day of Reckoning,

will this be realized in our hearts.

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

In hope, in fulfillment of all

that is promised to Your people,

we cast our eyes above, towards You,

in recognition of Your awesome holiness,

and in acknowledgment of our

human weaknesses and pettiness.

Bestow Your light upon us,

and hearken to our prayers.

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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.

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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.

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