The flood gate has opened.
And the water is filled with the sunken.
From the depths, come sisters’ cries,
Faint but discernible.
And yet…the others look to themselves.
“It was me.”
“I did it.”
“Punish me.”
“Admonish me.”
“See me.”
The shame is paralyzing, unyielding
Defacing.
And while brothers wander in the lonely pasture.
Sisters are still in the water.
Let us walk from land to sea.
And listen to the prayer of the sunken:
ShemaThe most central prayer in Jewish liturgy, the Shema states: "Hear O Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One." These words are written inside mezuzot and t'fillin. It is traditionally said during all major services and when waking and going to sleep. Yisrael
Hear O IsraelLit. ''the one who struggles with God.'' Israel means many things. It is first used with reference to Jacob, whose name is changed to Israel (Genesis 32:29), the one who struggles with God. Jacob's children, the Jewish people, become B'nai Israel, the children of Israel. The name also refers to the land of Israel and the State of Israel..
Concern us not with how we are seen.
But with how we hear. And act.
Pulling our sisters
and our selves out of the drowning place
At long, long last.