Type: Poem

This version of the ‘Unetaneh Tokef’ prayer refers to the atrocities that took place on Oct. 7.

“I squeeze the etrog and smell it, and my heart swells. / The mitzvah is to take the dare…”

“My path is not a straight line / but rather an ever evolving circle…”

“I am the Jew / I am a shofar  Calling to the world.”

Lesléa Newman uses the sestina form to capture her grief.

“Under the cover of darkness, the night is still / pulsating with possibilities…”

“I hear the wind rustling through the trees…”

“With all our troubles and our pain, at least we still have the rain…”

“So now You’re headed out-of-town, like some will-o’-the-wisp / to locate some new folks, perhaps, and begin In the beginning, all over again…”