Because of the complexity of trauma and experience, it’s often not possible for folks to attend Jewish family or community events. I wrote this prayer for folks seeking to ritualize that moment in which they acknowledge they are choosing not to attend.
i love you
with all the tenderness
that can only be felt
far away
because up close forsakes another kind of love
and this love
Love
is not a holding
but the freeing of atoms that slip between soft fingers and tightly clasped obligations
i cannot betray any of us
because they and i and you
were made to unfold
despite nature’s perfect collision
never
to force
or own
but to draw apart to draw near
and ever, the love that lets.
