The mikveh
Posted: December 17th, 2010, 4:50 pm
The mikveh’d be a welcome well today,
a welcome washing from the gentile world—
the world of men like me and sisters that
I have. No watch, no ring, no shoes, no clothes,
no bandages: alone in skin and wet
with heaven’s amniotic fluid and
its purity— where all the grip of hands
is lost and all that’s held is faith that stands
within the water on its own, a grand
example of simplicity. And yet
I wonder if there’s anywhere for those
like me who breathe the spirit of the gnat-
filled skies and long for waters cool and swirled—
what sea’s for me to wave my world away?
a welcome washing from the gentile world—
the world of men like me and sisters that
I have. No watch, no ring, no shoes, no clothes,
no bandages: alone in skin and wet
with heaven’s amniotic fluid and
its purity— where all the grip of hands
is lost and all that’s held is faith that stands
within the water on its own, a grand
example of simplicity. And yet
I wonder if there’s anywhere for those
like me who breathe the spirit of the gnat-
filled skies and long for waters cool and swirled—
what sea’s for me to wave my world away?