tashlich

it’s a fuzzy grey morning

with streaks of pink, and

a moon still sleeping and

racing waves, from sea

to shore

i want to remember this

moment

i dig my toes into high

tide sand and make my

way toward the waves, i

step slowly into the sea

that splashes my legs

and kisses my knees,

i am here, i am held, i have

come to release

and i breathe and imagine

letting go of the masks

and the roles and the stories

i told and all the prices i paid to

belong and be seen, i release

even the need to release and

cast off, and instead cast

wide, welcome, gather in

and say, ah dear one,

i love you exactly as you are

and i close my eyes to

hold onto this moment

and i feel my heart expand

to the size of my body and

maybe even the size of the

sea and just then i’m nearly

knocked over by a little girl

not more than three, screaming

with laughter and chasing

the waves

and her parents say sorry,

that she was playing and

didn’t see and i say of

course, as it should be,

because the world was

created for her

and i silently thank the

little girl and the sea

and walk away with sandy

feet under powder-blue

sky