This time, the angel’s

-Maya Bernstein

March 8, 2011

This time, the angel’s

not at my side,

not right or left

front or behind

and I’m alone

beneath the relentless weight

of the Presence.

Where has she gone

how dare she leave

me, now?

What pressing duty

What amorous pursuit

What illusion of independence

has wrenched her from

my side at this

time of all times,

my angel?

Doesn’t she know that I will find her?

Pursue her to the ship

and rage the waters rough

and send a mammoth fish

to swallow her whole up

entire,

and she’ll show me the gourd,

or castor oil plant,

in withering and blooma

nd I’ll hold her

tight this time, that

angel, like a

passing cloud a

fleeting shadow,

huddled, together.

Maya Bernstein writes about modern motherhood for Lilith Magazin'e blog http://www.lilith.org/blog/, and about Jewish innovation for UpStart Bay Area http://www.upstartbayarea.org/, where she works as Director of Education. She often commutes by train, a venue on which her poetry habit cannot be contained.