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Poem for a People on the Precipice

AI image generated by Chaya Lester

AI image generated by Chaya Lester

There’s this fathomless

deep crease

that will not be decreased

even by time

and a hundred-thousand ceaseless therapies.

It is a part of us now – this haunting –

and we can only hope to make the most

of the least…

to make the best of the worst

thing that could possibly be.

At the very least

I see how we walk sturdy with knowing

we are the ones willing

to give up everything

to lose life, limb & children

just because were yidden.

And even if we weren’t consciously willing

to be the world’s archetypal victims

deep down in our souls

it seems we signed an agreement

intoned in bones

at the dawn of time

to be a human sacrifice

for a globe-full of guilt.

And perhaps it isn’t just a Christian

metaphor after all

that he ‘died for our sins’

that thin-as-bone Jewish man

hanging there

hammered in.

That crucifixion is no fiction.

It is the black and white facts of Jewish history.

It is our mission hidden

in plain sight.

We will do it again and again

– as the world seems to demand –

offer ourselves up – death-defying

and doin’ just fine, thank you very much.

So bring on your hatred, you misled nations

your very best BDS B.S.

your sliest Hamas

your vilest lies and Isis don’t surprise us…

Hit us with your best shot

and we will hit it out the stadium

just like we always have…

The only difference is – we the home-team now.

Our dry bones

dance on home ground, holy ground

sewn with ashes

on our countenance

we are the risen

ones

resurrected

into Israel and her settlements,

yes, even into the world’s

most-protested settlements…

A little acknowledgment

wouldn’t hurt us…

but then again

the world’s icy silence

is just extra credit

on the test we aced

at Auschwitz.

We are here, willing and ready

to once again wrestle away the darkness.

About the Author

Psychotherapist, inspirational speaker, wordsmith, performance artist & Co-Director of Jerusalem's Shalev Center. Chaya lives in the heart of Jerusalem with her husband R'Hillel & their 4 energetic children. Read more pieces like this in real-life book form: https://www.amazon.com/Lit-Poems-Ignite-Jewish-Holidays/dp/1623930219

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