Abandon
September 05, 2022
כִּֽי־אָבִ֣י וְאִמִּ֣י עֲזָב֑וּנִי וַֽיהֹוָ֣''ה יַאַסְפֵֽנִי׃
"Though my father and mother abandon me, God will take me in.” (Psalm 27:10)
It’s the start of Elul
and these words
stick in my throat.
They’d grown so tired.
I told them it was okay,
they could go. But right now
it isn’t okay. They won’t
ever sit at my table again.
Their voices are silent.
All the high holidays
I haven’t lived yet
stretch ahead of me
without parents,
just still photos
behind the lit candle.
It’s a scant six months
since we buried him
on his side of the bed.
Having no parents
is so much more (or less)
than having only one.