X

x happened can we agree x happenedx happened and then fire happenedand then they fell into a red salt poolin a sea of exile who was to take them inwhose strangers were they x happenedand the red salt waters rose abovetheir thighs can we agree that y mighthave happened upon reflection giventhe will to make y happen but neverhappened can we agree to sit togetherin the grove where x happened listeningto x as it happened according to listeningto why x had to happen according towanting to undo the x that was done towanting to ask forgiveness but tongue-tied by nightmares of the loss that mightensue reaching for words as composed asnelson mandela’s this then is the soundrising of x as it happened can we agreewe hear the blood of the olive might webecome the most fortunate of creatureswhom g-d forbid x should ever happen toagain who build our homes by the fountof living waters tend our flocks andfeed our neighbors from a seething potwho walk in the stillness of cedars