Poem for Sunday

Beautiful Pesach Moon
By Dan Vera

And I who am not Jewish,
Am befriended this night,
Made warm by strangers,
Fed at a common table,
Allowed to trip my tongue
Pronouncing millennial old
Sacred prayers over the bitter
and the sweet.

And now returning home,
The moon,
Like a plate awaiting charoset,
Like matzoh floating in the bluest soup of sky,
shines her brightest lamp down on me.

And like this night's Haggadah
I am made to connect the old with the new.
So as the plague of frogs reminded us
of an ecology without frogs,
The Military Drive I ride upon
reminds me of the pestilence of this misbegotten war we are in.

This moon too shines over Baghdad,
Casting her light over the bitter and the bittersweet.

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Poem from schemingreader. There was a full moon tonight, too -- we saw a fox in the road driving home from the seder at my parents' house.

Feeling positively beastly from bug caught from Daniel so will keep this short. Went to the National Arboretum to see the azaleas, which aren't quite at peak yet but we were afraid we might miss them this year otherwise, given the iffiness of the weather. Walked probably further than I should have given how I feel and ended up completely exhausted. Slept in the car on the way to Ikea because we had promised Adam we'd go look at bunk beds for him; ended up getting him a dresser and Paul a swivel chair but we have to go back for the bunk beds because we can't fit them and the kids in the van at the same time. Didn't have much time to look at photos but here are a few:















Went to my parents' for the seder, which was thankfully short (I've already documented my theological issues with Passover) and the food was fantastic: gefilte fish, salad, chicken soup with matzoh balls, potato pancakes, carrot souffle, chicken, lots of awesome kosher desserts and the usual eggs, matzah, haroset, etc. Plus I got a Tarot deck as an Afikoman prize even though I didn't look for it. *g* Came home and watched Atonement, which I suspect it was advantageous to see while slightly feverish because so much of it is dreamlike and leaps back and forth through time. The filming is gorgeous, the acting is terrific, I loved seeing England before and after the war...why was this movie not considered a serious contender for the Best Picture Oscar? I suppose I will have to watch it again when I can see straight!