High Holiday Dispatch

It is

on days like this,

I think of Spielman

And how he sounded the shofar

"You must have heard him."

I wrote to a friend,

in Boston.

I was boastful.

Proud.

... To have been part of that

breath

of life,

in Brooklyn.

On some Sabbaths.

I think:

"These people don't get it.

They don't realize,

how lucky they are,

to have such a place

as this

at the corner

of Garfield

and Eighth."

They are not grateful enough,

I maintain

in my mind.

... Caught up

in judgment.

What happens to us,

on days like this?

When we atone.

… When we reconcile

The arc of our triumphs

and pain

With that of our sorrow

for

opportunities

lost

had we

but remembered god.

What happens is

We get dressed up

And write a check

To discover

that God

doesn't deal

in bribes.

That as much as we can be bought,

The commerce of our souls

Is a different matter

altogether.

We must,

if it matters

if we aren't

just dollars

and cents,

We must

become god.

.. . With our lips,

Around the instrument

Of our choosing.