Baruch atah Adonai… Blessed…
I envision my husband, his warm embrace
Our children, craning their necks to see
Our family, different, entirely ordinary.
Eloheinu melech ha-olam… Sovereign…
The flame dances against dark shadows
Igniting and re-kindling our faith
In God who brought us together.
Asher kid’shanu b’mitvotav…Commands…
I tremble reciting the ancient words
Weekly made new again
In the refuge of our home.
V’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat… Light…
I look around and see those I love
Bathed in the warm glow, at peace
And for an instant, we’re in Eden.
Author notes
This is a poem about my vision for the future. It is an integration of my gay and Jewish identities and the fulfillment of my desire for a family of my own.
- Bis Lesbians Gays and Transgendered group list • next in list
A contest entry
- What Is The One Thing That Makes You Happy? by FloridaGatorQueen.
550 points, ended August 14, 24 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Prewrite for members without a trophy by Nevel.
1000 points, ended September 18, 14 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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Your poem gives a sense of serenity, in connection with the Hebrew words it's a prayer-like poem. I enjoy the contradicted nature of it. Your AN matters. I wish you could put it more clearly in your poem, blended with imagery, to strenghten your voice/message. Great last line through. Being Jewish and gay is were you are born with, I hope acceptance will come for you, what I missed in your poem is the road towards to it. Good luck in the contest.
Erwin
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Awesome write you peices inspire me. I see you are torn between your way of life and your religion, I'm not oer se but I would like to experience what you have written here. This is excellent full of emotion and longing thank you!
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Thanks for your comment and for reading my poem. I've not thought about it as being torn per se, but I suppose that fits. I'm struggling to integrate my Jewish and gay identities in a meaningful way. I like the vision of that integration this poem gives me.
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Beautiful
I love your opening...
Baruch atah Adonai… Blessed…
I envision my husband, his warm embrace
Our children, craning their necks to see
Our family, different, entirely ordinary.
Amazing write
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This is a wonderful read, and the intertwinning of faith and family and identity, is absolutely perfect. And this also reflects, issues, which we grow up with, which affect us, which we have to get to gripps with, even though it's hard and maybe sometimes, we are not prepared to do so.
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Thank you for your comment. I hope this poem causes people to stop and think about the issues it raises for a moment. More importantly, however, I see this poem as a way of projecting a vision for my own future.
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It is rare to find any Jewish poem on this site, and this poem deals with an extremely difficult to understand area in the Jewish world. Nice to meet another Jew on the site. I look forward to reading more of your writes.
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Thank you for your comment and good shabbos to you!
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This is an awesome poem. I can see you really love your faith and it really makes you happy. I enjoyed the read!!! Thank you for entering my contest.
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Thank you for your comment and for the contest. I really enjoyed writing this poem and intertwining the things that are most important to me.
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