Last night’s reading
of All of Us
at Temple Israel
in Catskill New York
Temple Israel a name
like Esther Cohen
we are many.
I am not a synagogue goer
except for my childhood
Fridays at the Beth Israel Synagogue Center
last night we entered a room
we wanted to be.
Rabbi Zoe made us all tea.
She sings, has a sense of humor,
welcomes everyone .
We sat together
at a long table. Board President
Michael even though he just had
shoulder surgery made delicious
gluten free cookies with his one good arm.
Deputy Planken synagogue
security guard, former Cairo police officer,
wrote about a drunk driver
whose life he saved.
He said to me
when I walked in the room:
I’ve seen you before but not in jail.)
Marietta from Citiot the store that sold
the books said she doesn’t write
and then, she wrote surprising sentences.
We who hadn’t known one another before,
disparate group of souls who happened to be
for reasons of words, inside an unexpected room
in Catskill right next door
to the Thomas Cole house,
we became, with our good words,
All of Us.
As Leslie says—you bring magic. Look how you enjoy (and catch!) all the quirky ways we express our humanness!
Together, beautiful.