The air is empty of shofar cries and the prayers that floated into the skies from a hundred hearts. The songs that lifted our hearts, soothed our souls and moved us to tears have stilled.
We stood, bowed, surrendered, and rose again
throats raw from confession, mouths dry from prayer
bodies hollowed by hunger.
throats raw from confession, mouths dry from prayer
bodies hollowed by hunger.
And then—
With the setting of the sun came the shutting of the gates,
A quiet click you only hear if you’re paying attention
Like a light breeze gently pushing a garden gate, the soft “snick” of closure
With the setting of the sun came the shutting of the gates,
A quiet click you only hear if you’re paying attention
Like a light breeze gently pushing a garden gate, the soft “snick” of closure
Now comes the weariness of completeness:
the emptiness that follows fullness.
Not joy, not grief,
but a peculiar exhaustion,
the way the ocean feels
after the tide has carried everything out,
leaving wet sand that cannot yet imagine
another wave returning.
the emptiness that follows fullness.
Not joy, not grief,
but a peculiar exhaustion,
the way the ocean feels
after the tide has carried everything out,
leaving wet sand that cannot yet imagine
another wave returning.
And yet the tide comes in, life resumes.
Emails and dishes, errands and deadlines.
No one on the street knows
you’ve just traveled an arc of ancient time,
Emails and dishes, errands and deadlines.
No one on the street knows
you’ve just traveled an arc of ancient time,
Through praise, confession, surrender, grief and renewal
Held tenderly on ancient words, soothed by the community’s shared heart
No one sees that you’ve been wrung out,
that you are still listening, still hearing
the echoes of the day.
Held tenderly on ancient words, soothed by the community’s shared heart
No one sees that you’ve been wrung out,
that you are still listening, still hearing
the echoes of the day.
You walk forward anyway
Full, light, undone,
Full, light, undone,
Complete
Carrying the sweet aftertaste
of holiness,
like honey on the tongue
after the fast has broken.
Carrying the sweet aftertaste
of holiness,
like honey on the tongue
after the fast has broken.
