Marking Lines – Havdalah Reflection Poem by Lewis Eron

We are God’s surveyors
Measuring time and space
Marking who's here and what's there
The where and the when
Before the what and the how
Sometimes describing the why
Or living the why not

God knows we use ancient tools
A torch to light our way
Spices to clean the air
And when we are thirsty
A sip of wine
Or a whole glass – four ounces or so
Not much more
Lest we get drunk or fat or both
We need strength to avoid temptation
And to move ahead

Measuring, counting, marking time and space
That's what we do
Luckily, they are not endless
But, sadly, neither are we
So we mark our hours
Count our steps
And watch our days pass into weeks
Weeks into months
Months into years
And years into lifetimes.
And then who knows
But we get to retire
And that's not too bad
We hope.

(November 4,2011)