When I describe
the characters in Super Why
diving into books
to change the story
and save the day

your face lights up:
you've done just that
with your younger daughter
when nightmares tore her
from her sleep

she'd tell you tearfully
about the bad green man
and you'd draw him
on your biggest sketchpad
and then scrawl him out

or adorn him
with silly hats
a feather boa, a banana
her laughter the talisman
that banished him for good

this week the Torah's
bedecked with dreams:
Joseph's dreams
the cupbearer's dream
the Pharaoh's dream

how different
would our story be
if, when Joseph brought
his dreams of the sheaves
bowing down before him

his parents had said
let's draw that dream together
here on this parchment
then write a new story
for you and your brothers

without their wounds
what would have set
the spheres in motion
to bring us down
so we could be raised up?