By Linda Pastan
A tree beside the synagogue atones
of all its leaves. Within the ram’s horn blows
and sins come tumbling down to rest among
old cigarettes and handkerchiefs. My sins
are dried and brittle now as any leaves
and barely keep me warm. I have atoned
for them before, burned clean by October,
lulled by the song of a fasting belly.
But sins come creeping back like wayward girls,
and leaves return to willing trees for spring.
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Quickie for Yom Kippur, though I did not go to Kol Nidre services. I am hanging out with Paul and Daniel, whom we picked up in the late afternoon to have dinner with my parents and to break the fast with friends on Saturday evening. Earlier I posted a review of Deep Space Nine's "Afterimage" and had lunch with Paul, and when we picked up Daniel, we drove his roommate to the medical center to get his sprained muscle examined. Traffic was terrible so we heard the Orioles win on the radio!
Plus we watched Elysium which had some really good aspects (Matt Damon's performance, a really strong diverse cast) and some not so-good-ones (predictable plot, lots of gratuitous violence, and Jodie Foster seemed to be on more drugs than she did at the Golden Globes). Have a good fast if you're fasting, a good Eid al-Adha if you're celebrating, a good Feast of St. Francis if you're observing it, and a good weekend regardless! Have a train from the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum:
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