by Rick Black (Arlington, VA)
I watch others pass by, pushing strollers,
carrying tallit bags, wearing yarmulkes.
And I imagine them in shul, reciting ancient prayers,
their hands uplifted to God.
And yet I would rather be here,
bent prostrate, nurturing the arugula seedlings.
Hunched over in torn jeans and invisible phylacteries,
I worship with them daily, my co-worshippers.
I use my hands to dig into the soil,
to clear away stones.
Rick Black is an award-winning book artist and poet. His artist books are represented in private and public collections, including the Library of Congress, Yale University and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. A journalist for many years, Rick’s poetry collection, Star of David, won Poetica Magazine’s 2012 poetry chapbook contest for contemporary Jewish writing. A reading of Star of David was held in the Middle Eastern & African Division of the Library of Congress. He recently published a new collection, Two Seasons in Israel: A Selection of Peace and War Haiku.
The Jewish Writing Project 