Jewish Poetry: "These Jews, Like Sand"

[ysabetwordsmith]

Judaism isn't a tradition that I write about frequently, but it pops up from time to time in my poetry and fiction. This particular piece came out of a poetry fishbowl in which the prompter wanted something about Jewish ancestry and immigration.

These Jews, Like Sand

In the word of my ancestors, handed down to me,
In the way of my forbears, brought to this shore,
I find wisdom and endurance in times that seem hard.

We were Jews when the world was new.
We will be Jews when the world is broken and made anew.
We move as grains of sand upon the wind, and like the sand endure.

An emigrant grieves for the lost homeland,
But an immigrant rejoices in the promised land.
O my grandfathers, O my grandmothers,
I will remember that these two things are equal truths.

The bravery of a man is steadfast, strengthening the spine:
It draws on the bones of Abraham behind me.
The confidence of a woman is eternal, encouraging the heart:
It draws on the wisdom of Ruth behind me.
O my G-d, lead me always to see the way
That has been passed unto me in my turn,
That I in my time may leave landmarks in good trust
For the keeping of those to come after me.

Comments

[bookblather]

I like the balance in this, the steadfast roots of history and the certain knowledge that there will be a future, no matter what.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Those are very common motifs in Jewish poetry, durability and continuity, so I wanted to work them into this one.