The Devil’s Arithmetic

AI image generated by Chaya Lester

We have this new detestable morning ritual

Of waking up to body counts, over coffee.

Of another 4, another 8, another infinitely inscrutable, incalculable

Addition to our subtraction.

And I don’t blame you if you didn’t weep over the latest losses

I too know about the drawer in the far cabinet

where you stuff your mental notes

of pieces of news that prove

that the world is truly awful, senseless and brutal.

I too have my own discreet file

of facts that I keep stacked

just out of sight

when I am stirring the soup for the children to eat so that I do not poison the broth

with my intensity.

And yet, it is good to break open ~

to break over these awful equations.

To sift through the notes in the drawer

to study the truths of a broken world

carefully stored away…

And together let us curse

the devil’s abacus.

For these mounting additions of

Precious subtractions

That accumulate each day.

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