For the first time
I will miss
The HanukkahThe holiday which celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem following its conquest by the Syrians in 165 BCE. The holiday is celebrated by lighting candles in a hanukiyah oon each of eight nights. Other customs include the eating of fried foods such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly donuts), playing dreidl (a gambling game with a spinning top), and, in present day America, gift giving. lights.
This year
The light of
The 8th night
Burned out
Hours before
Christmas Day
Will.
(I am writing this
In those in-between
Hours.)
My first
Hanukkah/Christmas
Without you, Mom.
I only just realized
That I never expected to
Feel so lonely
Ever again.
And, I wondered,
When did we each receive
That first glimpseÂ
Of Primordial Light
And is it possible
That a beam of it
Came with a cord
Connected to Mother
And now the bittersweet
Of sudden awareness
That it doesn’t die
When Mother does?
Yes,
Today I miss
My mom.
