There is a light within to which I go

when all is dark in my

perception of contempt.

I find I cannot live amidst this battlefield

constructed in this pit of misery,

and thus I need to find some sense

in what appears as persecution and attack.

Is there a space for Joseph in my mind?

Can I then see my brothers and myself

as bearers of Your will and thus Your scripted figures

in a dream of only mercy?

This is the only way one can emerge from darkness

as another vision makes this nightmare real,

and that I know can never be a world of Yours.

This pit in which I stand is thus transitional

as my emergence only rests with vision of another way.

I cannot judge my brothers and myself in hate and still escape alive.

And so my ears hear painful words, my limbs feel all assaults

while slowly my mind shifts to rest with You.

And as it does, this hateful nightmare fades to dreams

which only can be satisfied in You as

hate dissolves in silence sacred.

My heart now open, circumcised again, does beat with joy as

I ascend the pit of disconnection through teshuvah to our home with You.

All thoughts of bitterness are gone with errors reconciled,

as pit behind me, I emerge with blessings for my brothers and us all.

Descent invites us to enhance ascent, and all the parts we play

in learning lessons through our dreams

as grateful students of Your Torah in Your world/school of peace.

Enmity - A Judith Felsen Poem

Remembering Beloved Member Bob Bagnon