There is always a past behind us,
a future ahead of us.
If we are alive
there is at least one breath taken
or left to take
on either side
And each breath, a blessing,
If we choose to see it so
A father, dying, blesses his boys
(his daughter is absent, from the moment,
or maybe just from the retelling).
His blessings convey his hopes
his beliefs
his regrets
his gratitude
His blessing is our destiny
if we choose to see it so
His blessing strengthens us in strength
if we choose to see it so
His blessing points the way
if we choose to see it so
And, also,
surprise, surprise,
his blessing tried to carry
the legacy of supremacy,
of younger over older
How has he not yet learned?!
But we have a choice
to gently uncross his hands and say,
No, Grandfather, this is not right
We must not repeat the past
we must not elevate one over the other
we must not exclude those who yearn
to be acknowledged
We must find a way to bless everyone
so that everyone is blessed.
Joseph tries
with his hands, with his voice,
to correct what is taking place
But when the father insists,
the son relents.
Perhaps, he sees what else is happening;
that the sullied eldest sons are being
replaced
by adopted sons with
Blank Slates
The birthright cannot pass to vengeance and violence
to adulterers and brother-killers
The future must be placed into the hands
of children
who might do better than their elders
if only we can raise them right
This is the blessing Israel bestows:
Hope in the future
placed above regrets of the past
This is the blessing we can claim as ours
if we choose to see it so
