From cramped to roofless
——-I became—I don’t know how—
————–an open-air temple with no pillars.
My walls of stone, lichen-covered,

where many feet came to pray.
——-The willows shook around me
————–as mice and small insects
knelt in moonlight, I could feel

the breath of many spirits
——-winging through my chamber:
————–rabbis dropping pocket lint—
specks of letters their devotional

thumbs rubbed off prayers—
——-peppered the air. As lithe women
————–led the service of dancing
I saw the specks drifting

into place, magnetized into
——-Ayin-Lamed-Yud-Nun-Vav
————–Aleinu wafting in air.
And I arose within my life and bowed.