DO (ELUL 1)

I didn't have perfect faith.
I didn't trust the world
with my eggshell heart.
I didn't notice
each miraculous instant.

I cut sandwiches
into small triangles. I read
about the little blue truck
and the friendly tractor.
I sang every night.

I tried to say thank you
even if the food were already
in my mouth, even if the day
were already underway
by the time I blessed the coffee.

What words did I inscribe
in the book of memory?
I wanted to write kindness
more often than I scrawled
impatience. I wanted

to practice compassion
when my son woke me
when traffic slowed me
when strangers smeared
my inbox with anger.

The camera is always rolling.
Play back the year
snacking on popcorn
with the Kadosh Baruch Hu,
see what the record shows.

"Kadosh Baruch Hu" is Hebrew for "The Holy One of Blessing," e.g. God.

I'm participating again this year in #blogElul, an internet-wide carnival of themed posts aimed at waking the heart and soul before the Days of Awe. (Organized by Ima Bima.) You can read last year's and this year's #blogElul posts via the Elul tag; last year's posts are also available, lightly revised, in the print chapbook Elul Reflections.