By Jacqueline Jules on March 18, 2010
Yom Kippur Offering
From the last sip of water
to the first bite of food,
twenty-four hours later,
there are pages and pages of words.
Spoken, chanted, mumbled, mouthed
in Hebrew and in English. Words
swirling in the fragile space
between faith and fear
like smoke from the burnt animal
our ancestors sacrificed.
Words
offered with parched lips,
grumbling bellies,
and a fist against the heart.
We are arrogant, slow to admit mistakes,
quick to accuse others, unwilling to accept
that all deeds matter, even those ignored.
Words
designed to pierce
concrete hearts
like the mythical shamir,
who cut stone for the Holy Temple,
until our souls emerge,
chiseled and clean.
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Posted in Established Authors, Poetry
Jacqueline Jules is an author and poet who writes for children and adults. Her books have been honored by the Sydney Taylor Award Committee and include The Hardest Word, Once Upon a Shabbos, Sarah Laughs, Benjamin and the Silver Goblet, and The Princess and the Ziz. Jacqueline won the Arlington Arts Moving Words Contest in 2007 and the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for Poetry in 2009. Her poems have appeared in more than 60 publications including the Christian Science Monitor, America, Jewish Spectator, Sow's Ear Poetry Review, Sunstone, and Imitation Fruit. www.jacquelinejules.com
