Multicultural Intergenerational Jewish Journal

You asked me Rabbi For a few words before the holidays Still stuck in Elul and its ponderings You asked me kindly Rabbi To reflect on what it means To be on the edge Of what? Elul you said Death I felt And to be narrowly on the other side What insights might you have About what? About approaching the New Year after a year of harrowing illness you said About kissing death I heard What have I got? Well you asked so I'll tell ya I got the body I've always wanted Trim hourglass No extraneous lumps It came at a high price Tumor's gone Also half my innards The inability to eat a full meal No fat ass, though, so I'll take it I'll take it and the question mark A long melon scoop cradling my belly button No one ever sees the scars Varied as they are I've lost something here Still don't quite know what Who the hell knows anything about anything Not the time Nor the day Nor the hour Nor even the person in front of you All I got is a question Ain't it good to be alive? And a lone tear crawling on my cheek