Abandon

 

������������������������ ������������������ ���������������������� ������������������''�� ��������������������������

"Though my father and mother abandon me, God will take me in.��� (Psalm 27:10)

It���s the start of Elul 
and these words
stick in my throat.

They���d grown so tired.
I told them it was okay,
they could go. But right now

it isn���t okay. They won���t
ever sit at my table again.
Their voices are silent.

All the high holidays
I haven���t lived yet
stretch ahead of me

without parents,
just still photos
behind the lit candle.

It���s a scant six months
since we buried him
on his side of the bed. 

Having no parents
is so much more (or less)
than having only one.