If we weep
if we sob, wail, keen
every one of us
tears coursing downÂ
millions of faces
                        can we put out the fires?
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If we mourn together
rend our garments,
lament, howl,
grieve the loss of each
woodpecker, egret, Steller’s jay,
squirrel, bear, deer, chipmunk,
fox, raccoon, lizard,Â
banana slug, beetle,Â
every redwood
Â
If anguish shakes us
so hard we can’t stand
and we drop to our knees
we fall to our bellies prostrateÂ
as in the Grand Aleinu
Â
If, facedown on the seared earth,
we open our lips to declare
it’s up to us to mend the broken world
and our mouths fill with ash?
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                        Would that be a new beginning, God?
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Could we save the blazing forests
with the rain
of our repentance?
