For My Grandmother

Leah bat Esther (1925-1990)

Barchu:

your departure

a call to worship

a plane ride home

.

Shema:

my faith pressed

against question, face

against glass, where

even underneath us

it is night

.

T’filah:

I will remember

those who came

before me, my sister

sobbing because

your coffin looks

too small

.

Aleinu:

we are chosen

to live among death

to remember, always

my father crying

his full weight

in his arm

over my shoulder

.

Kaddish:

we are taught

to move on

and to remain

constantly aware

of conclusion

I put a stone

on your grave

like my father did

on Sundays

before he moved

flowers die, he said

or blow away.