O holy
Listen up Israel
God is one
God alone
God the one and only
God integrated and unified
the seamless embrace of Existence
O holy God —
Know it and know it
Eid – can I be a witness
I climb up that large ayin
slide down the big dalet
I’ll be a witness to the seamlessness –
I turn it around in dyslexia
plow the language like a palindrome
Da’ – know!
I climb up the Hebrew running right to left
jump it back left to right
let all directions fold into the ascent of the letters
into knowing
Da’ – let me know
God is one
God alone
only God
lonely God.
O lonely God
I am recovering from the sadness too
three weeks I sat in sadness
seven weeks I am taking to recover.
God recovering too —
listen O Israel
everything is going to be better now.
Everything.
Slowly slowly
we are into the ascent.
I ask God in my prayers to lose that loneliness
we are witnessing
at least along for the ride
trying to know something
when knowing is not
everything.
O holy God —
we are trying to do something
right
after all.
jsg, usa
Maqam Hoseini
D E-flat F G
Maqam is a musical figure, cognate to Hebrew Maqom signifying Place. Each Shabbat is associated with a maqam.