Soon Shabbos
So many poets talk about light and spirit and love and pain and longing and angst and and and. But neither Rumi, nor Collete, nor any other poet speaks to me like Zelda. It's not just that she speaks to me, but it feels like she's speaking from the same place from which I speak.
.
"Softly the Sabbath has plucked the sinking sun. Slowly the Sabbath descends, the rose of heaven in her hand. How can the Sabbath plant a huge and shining flower in a blind and narrow heart? How can the Sabbath plant the bud of angels in a heart of raving flesh?... Light a candle! Drink wine! Slowly the Sabbath descends and in her hand the flower, and in her hand the sinking sun."
.
It's hard when you want everyone to experience and articulate like Zelda. Those kind of expectations lead to disappointment. And yet.
.
I pray,
as the sun
gets plucked
by my girl Shabbos.
~
May we be
blessed to feel,
and think, and do,
and speak
more deeply.
~
May our hearts,
no matter how sick
or old,
be fertile for
the "huge and shining flower"
that our girl Shabbos
wishes to have us nurture.
~
May all ravaged flesh
be calmed
by the essence of Shabbos.
~
May our divine candles,
our human souls,
add light to the world;
individual light,
myriad lights.
~
May the wine we drink
infuse our hearts with joy,
and increase world happiness.
~
May we catch Shabbos
as she flutters
down upon us
wearing a flower
in her sunlit hair.
posted by rabbi neil fleischmann @ 6:15 PM
8 Comments:
I think I love your poems on Shabbos the most
Climbing into Shabbos.
The peace of being. Spinning down.
Level by level, step by step. It sinks.
Slowly. Calmly. Beautifully.
It's quiet here. Alone in the darkness. Absorbed by the light.
Wow. This is gorgeous. Zelda, I imagine, would appreciate this response to her poem. In a poetic (and religious-spiritual) conception of the world I can almost see her receiving it across space and time.
Sharon
Thanks Eric, that means a lot to me.
Perhaps you'll like these, if you haven't seen them yet:
http://rabbifleischmann.blogspot.com/2008/03/whole-world-is-waiting-to-sing-song-of.html
I like your poem very much. I particularly appreciate, "Alone in the darkness. Absorbed by the light."
Thank you Sharon, much appreciated. Your comment just appeared now after I completed my post Selichot post.
It's hard to explain my deep connection to Zelda. I was just resting my head on my hand and looked at the book cover with a picture of Zelda - head in hand - and felt a mirror like resemblance.
I hope I do not offend, but the phrase "my girl Shabbos" makes me a bit uncomfortable. Too flippant, perhaps?
I hear that it makes you uncomfortable. To me, because I know the author well, it doesn't sound flippant.
Years later i'm looking at this and I don't like the sound of my girl Shabbos - thinking to change that and tweak other things here as I celebrate the 50th anniversary of publication of Zelda's first book...
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