Poetry Friday–Peace and Rosh Hashanah

I’m offering  up some heartfelt poetry and art (WIP, detail) for Poetry Friday–and this  full week, filled with spirtualism,  religious holidays, and social activism.

Wednesday night began the Jewish Holiday Rosh Hashanah, one of the Jewish high holidays, where Jews celebrate the New Year and begin to reflect on their sins over the past year. It culminates 10 days later on the Holiest of Jewish holidays Yom Kippur–this is the “Day of Repentance” where Jews take responsibility for their sins, through prayer. A favorite food to share for the New Year is apples dipped in honey, for hopes of a sweet New Year.

Thursday is the International Day of Peace, and the theme this year is “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.” This year the United Nations is focusing on respect, dignity, and safety for all those having to leave their homes in efforts of finding a “better life.” Here’s a link to read more about the 2017 International Day of Peace 

I’ve been writing peace poems this week. In my first peace poem I was thinking about the fall, a time of harvest, and the Jewish New Year. I also wanted to connect these thoughts positively with our current times.

PEACE

Peace opens her door each year, when we welcome falls harvest,
Envy has no place at Peace’s table, nor does greed, hunger, or destruction.
Allow peace to fill your palate with altruistic acts of kindness, generosity, and humility.
Carry a piece of Peace with you at this seasonal changing time of year–and
Examine her virtues within your heart–share them vast and wide with your multi-diverse neighbors throughout our small world.

© 2017 Michelle Kogan

 I continued to ponder on more about peace and what it means to me, I thought of water and crossing waters. This brought me to Jimmy Cliff and his song Rivers of Babylon–which one of my peace poems branched from. 

PEACE

“By the rivers of Babylon,”
By the shores of “gitchi-gami,”
By the oceans of the Bering Strait,
By the body of water
that connects one
human being to another,
Let peace pass between,
and wrap around our 
bodies–spreading
far and wide,
washing us in 
waves of 
compassion,
altruism,
wisdom, and 
hope for all
humanity.

And as Jimmy Cliff sang:
“So, let the words of our mouth
And the meditation of our heart
Be acceptable in Thy sight
Oh Fari.”

© 2017 Michelle Kogan

Peaceful wishes to all!
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Amy! She just   celebrated her book birthday for her new book, READ! READ! READ! Be sure to stop by her blog, The Poem Farm, for the roundup and more!

SaveSaveSaveSave