Erev Rosh Hashanah 5785

Look outside

The leaves are turning

The pomegranate sits on the counter

I’m not ready to open it

The potential for newness scares me

Because last year I ate of its juices

Thinking of life thinking of what beauty will be birthed

And now I am afraid to open it

Afraid that the deep red will look like the blood I saw yesterday on the street on the train

Will look a desert flower in a murder field

Will look like a child’s hand stuck in a pile of rubble

Will look like the angry faces of hate matching hate

How do you start a new year in such a time?

How do you start over when the last time you did

you ushered in a year of blood?

What symbol will change forever this year?

But look outside

The leaves are turning.