By Mel Glenn (Brooklyn, NY)
In times of trouble and surprise
people are apt to exclaim,
“Oh, God,” or “OMG”
to the heavens,
as if God is at their
personal beck and call.
I, being an agnostic Jew,
would like to believe, and
have often used the same expressions.
In a recent and regular cardiology
visit, I was told to immediately
get to the emergency room.
“Good thing you came in today.”
the doctor said. “You could have died
within weeks.”
““Oh my God!” I said, reflexively.
“Thank God,” I added, and was soon
implanted with a brand new pacemaker.
Now and for the immediate future
I can believe in God and (surgery)
and sing a psalm of gratitude
and hope to dwell in the house
of the Lord forever and ever.
Mel Glenn, the author of twelve books for young adults, is working on a poetry book about the pandemic tentatively titled Pandemic, Poetry, and People. He has lived nearly all his life in Brooklyn, NY, where he taught English at A. Lincoln High School for thirty-one years. You can find his most recent poems in the YA anthology, This Family Is Driving Me Crazy, edited by M. Jerry Weiss. If you’d like to learn more about his work, visit: http://www.melglenn.com/
The Jewish Writing Project 