Poetry

and Prayers

This Rock

Once upon a time
This rock was a mountain,
God's mountain -
Crowned with snow
Wreathed in green
Trees
Fir Trees
Always green
And kissed by rain
Time's endless tears
And caressed by wind
Time's endless hugs
Grandeur and greatness
Weathered away
Glory
Diminished
Eternity and majesty
Turned to pebbles
To sand
To dust
But for this rock
No longer here
But everywhere

The whole world is filled with God's glory

May 2, 2018

Rosh HaShannah Never Comes at the Right Time

Rosh HaShanah never comes at the right time;
It is always too early or too late.
Who can remember exactly when
The wheels of our Jewish year
Intersect the cycles of secular time
And interrupt our worldly life?

Rosh HaShanah never comes at the right time;
Sneaking in right at the end of summer
After vacation and as school begins,
Or hanging around in the background
Only to arrive just after our autumnal schedule has been set.

Rosh HaShanah always comes before we are ready
To put aside our past and lay our burdens down.
There is always something else to do:
Another job, another client, laundry to fold, a room to paint.

Rosh HaShanah always catches us by surprise.
Showing up with a Shofar blast
And a chorus of angels proclaiming,
“Hinei Yom HaDin!”
“The New Year is here – Judgment Day has arrived.”
An unexpected summons,
Like being called to the principal’s office
Or an audit from the IRS.

So we stop, turn and listen
To the arresting voice within and around us
And gather together and pray
For peace and for blessings
For us and our dear ones
On this our New Year’s Day.

There will be a day

(For Yizkor - Memorial Prayers)

There will be a day when our dead will be quiet

Their silent voices will no longer be heard

In our heads

When we sleep

Or fix breakfast

Or nod off

Or look at children

Grandchildren

Or flowers

There will be that quiet day

When strangers walk between the tombstones

Reading their names and dates

The brief words

Here lies:

Loving Father

Caring Mother

Devoted Friend

Healer – Teacher

Brother – Sister – Child

And puzzle at the Hebrew letters

That day will come

But by then

We will have gone.

September 10, 2018

We are Made of Forgotten Stars

(For N'ilah - Closing Service for Yom Kippur)

We are made of forgotten stars
The light of the beginning
Or the next generation
Dust
We are
But
Star dust
Once bright, then dark
And for our moment
A spark
To light,
Perhaps,
A star?

September 12, 2018

Lamah Sukkah Zu? - Why this Sukkah?

“Why have we built this sukkah?” the little child asks.

“So that we can play in it forever,” his smiling daddy replies.

“Why have we built this sukkah?” the adventurous boy asks.

“So that we can explore the earth together,” his caring dad replies.

“Why have we built this sukkah?” the questioning youth asks.

“So that we can remember the hungry and homeless,” his loving father replies.

“Why have we built this sukkah?” the young man asks.

“So that we may recall our youth and our love,” his wistful old man replies.

“Why do we build this sukkah” the new father asks.

“So our dreams may last forever,” the proud grandfather replies.

October 12, 2003

Stories

Years end, books end, lives end.

Stories?

They do not end.

They continue over the years,

Unfolding and contracting,

Reaching in and out.

Characters enter and depart

And stories intertwine

Sometimes stories are written.

Sometimes stories are read.

Reading stories creates new stories.

Writing stories creates new readers.

Telling stories creates new friends.

New friends tell new stories.

Stories do not stop for time.

Stories do not stop for us.

We can jump in or not

Whenever we wish

Or better yet

Bring a friend along,

And show her

Letters,

And how letters make words,

And how words make sentences,

And sentences, paragraphs,

And paragraphs, chapters,

And chapters, books,

Which hold our stories,

Which never end.

So we get to live forever,

Always young, always old,

Sometimes wise,

But always alive,

In our stories.

June 11, 2013

Dead Jews Walking

Dead Jews walking –

This is not a Holocaust poem

Although some survivors are still walking

Slowly

With neighbors who used ration coupons

And wore Uncle Sam’s cloths

Or enjoyed Stalin’s hospitality

In Siberia or in the Red Army or both

Or hid during the Blitz

And then moved to the suburbs

Where they are now

Back again

After a house

An apartment

Florida

Great grandchildren

And medical conditions that would have killed their parents

Depression, depressing, depressed

At times and lonely too

Just packing for the next journey

To a world probably less strange

Than the one they now share with us.

January 2019

The New Suit

One thing I won’t need soon

Is a new suit,

Not until

The ones I own

Become

More outdated than I,

And I have to go

To a wedding,

Or a funeral,

The latter,

More likely,

But, hopefully, not mine,

And I need a new look.

There are always thrift stores and outlets.

So my old suit can be replaced for less money,

Just as I was when I retired.

January 2019

Dayan HaEmet

Burying Mom on a Rainy Day

The last word we said was true

Or was it real?

I’m not sure

Nor was I sure

Standing on shaky ground

Wet grass, teary trees, soggy hole

And a torn ribbon

Possessing too much of what I need – clothes

Holding too little of what I want – time

Endings are always true

Or real

Or so they feel

Beginnings less so

But who remembers

I greeted you crying

And so I said goodbye

And there I stood

With muddy shoes

Red south Jersey clay

Knowing the only

That my truth

Had changed

March 2019

Peace is Our Goal

Memorial Day 2019

Cherry Hill, NJ

Your dream was to be with us

Yet you gave your life for us

So please forgive us

If we sometimes forget

That:

Freedom is precious

And War marks a failure

Though Victory, opportunity

But we need to be brave.

For if Hatred divides us

Then Love can unite us

And Peace is our goal

May we remember

What we lost forever

And that through living comes life.

But Fear is our enemy

And Anger our foe

Though Hatred might divide us

Our Love can unite us

So help us be brave.

Hope will sustain us

And Memory maintain us

For you were our children

Our brothers, our sisters

Our neighbors, companions

And also our friends

So help us remember

That

When Hatred divides us

Your sacrifice can remind us

That Love will unite us

Our values will guide us

To wholeness, and wellness

Because peace is our goal

So please abide with us

And bless us and trust us

As we march on forward

To Peace, our shared goal.

June 2019

Lost Keys
(To my cousin, Liz Eron Roth, in memory of her husband, Danny Roth)

Do you remember that day
When I could not find my keys?
I put them in a safe place
So that I would remember
Where they were
But I didn’t.
So you helped me find them
And my safe place.

So, to be safe
I gave you the keys
To that safe place.

But then I lost you
And with you, my keys
And found myself
Shut out of that place
Which I thought would be safe.

So I will break the lock
And open my heart
For your love to enter
And your spirit departs
And now I remember
I don’t need a key
Since no place is safe
And to be safe is not free.

Lewis John Eron
December 28, 2019

Grandma’s Tallit

The old, worn, large wool tallit[1]

Missing its fringes

Which I thought was my grandfather’s

Actually belonged to his wife,

My grandmother,

Long after he had gone.

She was small

The tallit was large

And wrapped in it

She kept warm.

She kept the tallit

Missing its fringes

While missing her husband

Who had died.

She kept it safe

It kept her warm

And saved it for me.

I keep it in a draw

Wrapped up.

After he went niftar – died

And the tallit became pasul – void

She kept it with her

And it kept her warm

And it kept him present

And it kept her alive

Not forever

But for a very long time.

Wrapping oneself in a tallit is a mitzvah,[2]

Remembering one’s love is a brachah,[3]

Staying warm on a cold night is a michayyah,[4]

Nothing lasts forever

But even a broken tallit has enduring value.

[1] Tallit – a prayer shawl with fringes on each corner

[2] Mitzvah – a deed directed by Divine love

[3] Brachah – a blessing

[4] Michayyah – a revitalizing experience

When I Die Will the Emails Stop?

When I die, will the emails stop?

And the text messages,

and the letters,

and the bills,

Or will they rest in my away box

Until resurrection?

Death could just be a vacation.

Everything will wait until we return

And our punishment will be

Trying to catch up with promises not met

And letters gone unanswered

And bills still to be paid

And with friends

Who, too, will return to busy lives.

And all this will take a long time

But not forever

For God is merciful

And we will come to see that

Most of the stuff

Really wasn't all that important.

Lewis Eron

July 7, 2020

Mourning Dead Stars

How do I mourn the death of a star,

When I still enjoy its light?

The news has reached me so long after its light went dark.

Where it was or what it is, I do not know,

Though I thought I saw it a while ago.

How do I mourn the death of a star,

That bit of light that I’ve just lost?

Where is the warmth, the power, the love,

The cosmic dance

Around the One,

The All

And me?

Lewis Eron

July 16, 2020

Shabbat in the Month of Cheshvan

When the candles die

Shabbat starts –

The quiet Shabbat

The noiseless Shabbat

The Shabbat of pillows and sheets and comforters

The Shabbat of darkness

And secrets

And stars

And of falling leaves,

And crickets

And bedroom windows still open.

When the candles die

And the dishes are washed

And the wine is gone

And it’s time to sleep

Shabbat begins.

Lewis John Eron

October 20, 2020

Crossing the Red Sea

(for Parashat Beshallach)

Only a fool dives into unknown waters

Maybe safe, warm, comforting

Maybe turbulent, cold, frightening

Maybe deep

Maybe shallow

Open hearts?

Broken skulls?

Only the fool dives in

So if you can

Jump in feet first

Or better

Walk in

Slowly

Carefully

Feel the sand or the mud or the weeds

Feel the fish or the crabs

Nibbling on your toes

Reach down

Splash water

On your chest

On your arms

On your face

Over your head

And say, “Mechaiya”.

Feel the water

First cold, then cool, then comforting,

Slowly, carefully,

Exploring, exclaiming

You can enter the water any way you choose

But, however, you enter,

Make sure you know how to swim

Lewis John Eron

January 30, 2021

Praise to the Angels who die Every Day

(In Memory of Susan Love)

Who would guess

Angels live no longer than mayflies

All that energy

For one brief moment

One task, one breath

One life, one death

Stars you know

Live longer than angels

Much longer

All that light

Dispersed forever

One task, one breath

One life, one death

We live

Not long enough to be stars

Not short enough to be angels

Lots of tasks, lots of breaths

Touching many lives,

Touched by many deaths.

Lewis John Eron

February 2, 2021

“I Can’t Breathe” Is Not A Prayer.

“I can’t breathe” is not a prayer.

“To pray” at first is to breathe”

Every prayer starts with a breath.

The world was created in a breath

With a word, in a moment, with a prayer.

“I can’t breathe” is not a prayer.

Without a breath, one doesn’t have a prayer.

With a breath, one has a chance to pray.

All life flows from God’s breath.

The world begins in prayer.

“I can’t breathe” is not a prayer

“I can breathe” can start a prayer.

All that has breath can always pray.

The world can end in prayer.

Not every breath becomes a prayer.

But every prayer was once a breath.

From breath to life to prayer

But “I can’t breathe” is not a prayer.

At times we need to pause our breath

Holding our breath puts prayer on hold

Stopping a breath is stopping a prayer.

Each of us can be a prayer.

But “I can’t breathe” is not a prayer.

“I can’t breathe” is not a prayer.

Without a breath, there is no prayer.

Those asleep in the dust have no prayer.

And stopping breathe is stopping prayer,

And the world can end with the end of prayer.

Creation’s God is the God of prayer

Creation exists for the sake of prayer.

But “I can’t breathe” is the end of prayer.

Lewis John Eron

September 30, 2021

The Dead Boy

(For Ravi who died while on vacation)

This time it was an auto accident

You weren’t driving

Just bad luck.

It could have been a gun

Or a knife

Even though you were peaceful.

Or the current plague

Or another disease

Or a congenital defect

No one could see.

We never see death coming

It’s in that blind spot

Between the rearview mirror

And the one on the door

Or below the peephole

Or behind the hedge

Or even in a welcomed hug and kiss

This time it was an auto accident

It was not your fault

It rarely is

And next time

The surprise will kill us

Once

Again.

Lewis John Eron

April 12, 2021

White Jews

Hey, Jew Boy!

Do you remember the day you became white?

The day we let you in?

The ticket price?

We do.

Hey Jew Boy,

There’s a penny in the corner

So just be nice

Don’t rock the boat

Don’t move the chairs

And we’ll save your space.

Hey Jew Boy

What about the Israelis?

They kick ass

But they look like ‘spics

Puerto Ricas, I mean,

Not to offend

Your New York ears.

Hey Jew Boy

With your curly hair

With your olive skin

With your big nose

And your sister’s a blond

From a bottle.

Hey Jew Boy,

I’ve got a Jew doctor

I’ve got a Jew lawyer

I’ve got a Jew neighbor

And you’ve got the money

And you’ve got the markets

And you’ve got the movies

And you’ve got the moves.

Hey Jew Boy

You like being white?

You like the schools?

You like the parks?

You like the jobs?

You like the perks?

Hey Jew Boy

Do you remember the day you became white?

The day we let you in?

The ticket price?

Not too high?

You jewed me down.

For what its worth.

Hey Jew Boy

Enjoy being white.

Lewis John Eron

October 24, 2021

“When will I be myself again?”

To Alyssa, whose Mother’s Funeral Was Yesterday

Some Tuesday, perhaps,

In the late afternoon,

Sitting quietly with a cup of tea

And a cookie;

Or Wednesday, same time or later,

You will stir from a nap and see her;

You will pick up the phone to call her;

You will hear her voice – unexpected advice –

And maybe argue.

And you will not be frightened,

And you will not be sad,

And you will not be alone,

Not alone at all,

And your tears will warm you.

But not today,

And not tomorrow,

And not tomorrow’s tomorrow,

But some day,

Some Tuesday, late in the afternoon,

Sitting quietly with a cup of tea

And a cookie

And you will be yourself again.

Lewis John Eron

February 12, 2013

(for a recitation of the poem - see the recording of the memorial service of The First Parish at Arlington, MA, a Unitarian/Universalist Congregation's annual memorial service, December 16, 2020, entitled Watch the Embrace the Darkness Service 12/11 at time marker 17:40)

Press Here

EIGHT MEMORIAL DAY PRAYERS

Rabbi Lewis John Eron

[1] MEMORIAL DAY 2006 (REVISED 2026)

To Our Dead Soldiers

You looked so sharp, so strong, so tall

When you said good-bye

With a hug

And a kiss

And a smile

And we played ball

Went to the beach

Celebrated birthdays

Weddings

Graduations

And counted the days

Until you returned

But you did not

And you left us memories

So today

Help us remember your hugs and your kisses

You smiles, laughter, your dance and your songs.

Help us remember your hopes and your wishes.

And help us remember your love

And hug us

And kiss us

And bless us

Today

With the courage we need to stand up to injustice.

With the strength we need to set people free

With the vision we need to walk towards freedom.

With the wisdom we need to use our gifts for good

With the insight we need to honor your memory

And with the love we need

To stand tall,

To look sharp

To be strong

So we can still share

Your hugs and your kisses

And make your smile our own.

[2] MEMORIAL DAY 2007 (revised 2026)

Let Us Hear

We’ve heard all the speeches

The tributes

The honors

We’ve listened

We’ve stood, saluted and cried

And with the summer before us

And the world all in bloom

In tune with the bugle

In beat with the drum

They sounded out

All the right words

So

Let us hear “dead” before we hear “honored”

Let us hear “lost” clearer than “sacrifice”

Let us hear “boys” sharper than “brave”

Let us hear “mother” brighter than “Gold Star”

Let us remember that before the parades

Come funeral processions

And not every soldier comes marching home.

So

Together today we count our losses

Together today we face our grief

We know the price they’ve paid for our freedom

And only together can we cherish their gift.

[3] MEMORIAL DAY 2011

Memories

So today we remember

Our youth, our dreams, and our hopes

Sunny days, warm breezes, picnics, ball games

The sea shore, the mountains, the woods, the lakes

And those who shared our joy

Before they marched away

Far away

To places off our mental maps

To places found on the other side of our globes

And in the back part of our atlas

The big book on the coffee table

We rarely open.

They marched off beyond the sea

To distant mountains

To far off forests, lakes and plains

To keep us safe

To fight our foes

To protect our lives, our dreams, our hopes

Our sunny days, warm breezes, picnics, ball games and such

Before they came home

Some whole, some wounded, some dead

So today we remember

Their youth, their dreams, their hopes

Their sunny days, their warm breezes, picnics, ball games

Their love of our seashore, our mountains, our woods, our lakes

And the joy they brought us

The love we shared

The life we envisioned

Before they marched away

Far away

To rest in forever

In the uncharted regions of our hearts.

Today we remember

And find blessings in the memories.

[4] MEMORIAL DAY 2013

Let Us Remember

Let us remember those who have fallen

Let us remember those who have fallen so that we can be here

Let us remember those who have fallen so that we can be here and remember

Let us remember

Their faces, their names, their hopes, their dreams

Let us remember

Their loves and fears

Let us remember those they left behind

And let us remember why we remember

And let us why we are here.

Let us remember those we asked to stand up for us in the face of danger

To protect us, our liberties, our freedom, our dreams, and our lives

At the cost of their liberty, their freedom, their dreams and their lives.

And let us remember and pray:

That we never forget them – their lives, their deaths,

And that we never forget that shared vision of a better America

The “more perfect union”

For which they died:

An America in which we are all a band of brothers and sisters

An America in which we are all safe, secure, and free

An America which stands with all who cherish freedom

An America which stands against all who despise liberty

An America which cherishes all,

honors all,

nurtures all,

protects all

An America which remembers the price of liberty

So that all can be free.

[5] Memorial Day – 2016

A Soldier’s Death is Not Pretty

A soldier’s death is not pretty –

Gassed green-gray in a trench;

Ripped, torn, crushed, cut

By machine guns hidden in hedgerows,

By bombs or shells or mines;

Bleeding out in the sand,

The dirt,

The grass.

Punctured by a lead ball round as a marble

On a field

Better used for farming

Or baseball;

Shattered by a device in the road

In a postcard village,

With mountains behind,

Gray, green, blue and white,

Now red;

Embraced by the North Atlantic waters;

Fire reaching from an infected leg to the heart and mind

Lost first in delirium, then in death;

Overcome by demons unable to suppress

Locked in a wounded body and trapped in a wounded brain;

A soldier’s death is not pretty.

So look beyond the statues – generals on horses

Once gold

Now green

Giving commands to pigeons

Look beyond the paintings – great murals

Of great battles

Of waves of men rising and crashing and retreating

Of flags and banners

Of bugles and drums

Of sunbeams cast on the commander’s heroic death.

Instead, remember the boys, the men, the women, the girls

Always young, always strong,

Sometimes brave, often scared

Dreaming of life and home

And always dead

Remember their dreams, their hopes, their prayers

Remember their families, their comrades, their friends

Remember to listen, to see, to sense:

Their deaths,

Their lives,

Their gifts

And give honor

And give love

And give thanks

[6] MEMORIAL DAY 2019

Peace is Our Goal

Your dream was to be with us

Yet you gave your life for us

So please forgive us

If we sometimes forget

That:

Freedom is precious

And War marks a failure

Though Victory, opportunity

But we need to be brave.

For if Hatred divides us

Then Love can unite us

And Peace is our goal

May we remember

What we lost forever

And that through living comes life.

But Fear is our enemy

And Anger our foe

Though Hatred might divide us

Our Love can unite us

So help us be brave.

Hope will sustain us

And Memory maintain us

For you were our children

Our brothers, our sisters

Our neighbors, our friends.

So help us remember

That

When Hatred divides us

Your sacrifice can remind us

That Love will unite us

Our values will guide us

To wholeness, and wellness

Because peace is our goal

So please abide with us

And bless us and trust us

As we march on forward

To Peace, our shared goal.

[7] MEMORIAL DAY 2025

Drums Beating

Bells Tolling

Bugels blasting

And a Gun Salute

Can’t silence weeping

Can’t stop tears

Can’t restore voices

Can’t bring them home.

To empty beds

To empty rooms

To empty chairs

To broken hearts

Nor can body bags

And draped flags

And honor guards

And rows of marble monuments

Nor speeches

Nor prayers

But their memory sustains us

Their sacrifice commits us

Their death commands us

To live with our losses

To build with their visions

To care for each other

To share the dreams

For our nation

For which they died

The dreams

Of liberty

Of justice

Of happiness

Of equity, unity, community

And peace.

Peace

In a world at peace

Peace at home

Peace abroad

Peace in our hearts.

And the peace of feeling whole once more.

And now, we part

Holding on to our sorrow for those we have lost

With the resolve

To honor their memories

by living with compassion,

by standing for what is right,

and by striving always to be worthy of their sacrifice.

So, let us leave this sacred place

with peace in our hearts,

with purpose in our hands,

with the strength of community

and with the bitter-sweet consolation of memory.

Amen

[8] MEMORIAL DAY 2026

Benediction

We have said the proper words

We have sung the expected songs

We have stood up and saluted

The passing flag.

We have read your names

Slowly, solemnly

Reverently, respectfully

And we have heard the bugle

Call you back

To your eternal rest.

And yet we still have one small request

From you who have offered us so much -

That you pray for us

That we don’t forget

Your dream for our country

Your hope for our homeland

Your wish for our children

Help us not forget

The dream that we all will be free

The belief that we all are equals

The understanding that our unity grows out of our diversity

The promise that justice will prevail

The commitment to care for each other

The assurance that public service is public trust

And the hope that

The clash of arms,

The call to war

Will no longer be heard in our land.

It’s not a long prayer

But it’s one we need

This morning

and tomorrow

and tomorrow’s tomorrow

And always.

So pray for us

As we remember you

So that we honor your lives

So that we cherish your dreams

And so that we can build the better home

For which you gave so much.