The Sins of the World
To say that the world is in crisis,
This first Monday night of October,
Is a hyperbolic understatement of major proportions.
Let it be known, told, as in Biblical Scripture,
That Earth is doomed, for having followed false prophets,
To a mirage in a vast desert,
Shimmering like Canaan's milk-and-honey plains,
Where life would have a chance
To transform sand into oases fertile with olives and figs.
During these days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,
I meditate on my sins of the year gone by
And realize that tonight is not the night to decide
What the rest of my life should be like.
I have no heart for facing up to this vitalizing task.
Indeed, I believe I'll let life pass me by,
While I forget who I am, in the scheme of things,
When people's fears of surviving economic catastrophe
Outstrip their ability to say yes to humanity.
10/06/08 - (3)
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