January 2021
Sarah White
sarahwhitepages@gmail.com
Author's Note: I read this poem on a rainy day last week at the burial of my partner, Reuven. Despite the sodden grass underfoot and the wet cloud overhead, a number of people listened attentively as the poem evoked a creator who "turned the water on." The poem was originally published in "to one who bends my time" (Deerbrook Editions 2017)

Reading the Torah With You 

for Reuven
 
We watch Him sort things out 
though, around Him, all is dark.  
He brings light, preserving shadow
as a frame for stars and moon.
 
He turns the waters on, leaving
dry soil for gophers, dogs, 
and squirrels. Two humans watch  
the creatures swim, swarm, scamper,
 
crawl, and climb. Six days
begin and end. Their Maker looks
and finds them good. The sun 
 
is down. Our limbs are blind. 
We intertwine them to become
the man and woman in the Book.
©2021 Sarah White
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