Tears and Hope

Tears and Hope
(C) Rabbi Menachem Creditor
with deep gratitude to the children and teachers of the Oakland Hebrew Day School

Their faces, shining, beautiful, scared,
looking to me for reassurance
when I have
none to offer.

So I hold back my tears
and share my hopes for peace
and a memory of being
right where they were
when I was their age,

Afraid for family and friends,
hoping for their safety,
wondering what I'm doing
so far from home.

And once the children leave
my defenses crumble
because

I never stopped being their age.
And my family hasn't yet known peace.

And calling out to God
only makes me
cry more.