As we welcome the month of Av, we are featuring poet, Ester Eckhaus, whose words bring us in introspection and prayer, to guide us in the tenderness and pain of this month of mourning. These poems are an invitation to acknowledge any loss or pain that you are dealing with, as we step into this month. We begin by noticing, in order to engage and ultimately heal.

Poem 1 –

My Sadness

Honors me

She is a reverent soldier

Bowing to the unbearable loss

That lays strewn

Inside me

I do not wish

To rid myself of her

For

To cover or repair her

Would be to shun

The funeral of a loved one

And dismiss the rain

Which would water my soul

Poem 2 –

Yes,
I am scared.

Perhaps for the first time in my life

I lift up my hands
In pure resignation

To all that might befall me
Without even

My mind

Or will

To hold me steady

In the face of you

You grand,

Dark Unknown.

Even as my sight goes

I walk steadily

Into you

Pretending

All the while

That the walls of my home surround me

Though my searching fingers

Cannot find them

Poem 3-

Maybe
You are too tired

To think about God.

Never mind,
Sleep.
And your dream will be god-like.

Maybe
You are too heartbroken

To speak to God.

Never mind,

Cry.

And your tears will be a prayer.

Maybe

You are too lost

To conceive of God

Never mind,
Go deep

And your being will become infinite.

About the Poet

Ester Eckhaus is a Jewish poet, writer, and student of philosophy and literature. She grew up Chabad in Brooklyn, and has lived in Jerusalem for six years and counting. Her poetry explores spiritual themes of connection to God/Universe, others, and the self. She is also a woman-loving Gemini, who has a very hard time writing a bio that will include all her evolving identities.

Email: Estereckhaus@gmail.com

FB page: https://m.facebook.com/estereckhauspoetry/?ref=bookmarks

Instagram: ester_eckhaus_poetry