What or what not by liz snader
On winter nights I slept snuggled
Into my best friend. My sheets
Fit tight, clinging near the edges of a
Worn mattress ready to collapse.
On that afternoon, I walked around with the word
Of God on my lips
Just like those words I’ve longed to say.
“Oh grab me, warm me, old friend!”
That’s not a new cut, that’s a scar
I got when I was 15
From my sister:
“All the same, she deserved it.”
I remember my little sister waking me for school.
She would run into my room and sing,
But not rip at my blankets.
Since then we’ve become much closer.
And as her reward, I pray
When that day comes,
She may be awakened into the
Arms of love
On the day of resurrection.
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A Letter of Recommendation
On summer nights I sleep naked
in Jerusalem. My bed
stands on the brink of a deep valley
without rolling down into it.
In the daytime I walk around with the Ten
Commandments on my lips
like an old tune someone hums to himself.
Oh touch me, touch me, good woman!
That’s not a scar you feel under my shirt, that’s
a letter of recommendation, folded up tight,
from my father:
“All the same, he’s a good boy, and full of love.”
I remember my father waking me for early prayers.
He would do it by gently stroking my forehead, not
by tearing away the blanket.
Since then I love him even more.
And as his reward, may he be wakened
gently and with love
on the Day of the Resurrection.
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