Miriam's Desire - Poem

Judaism, Summer, 2002

Miriam's Desire

ROBERT MANASTER

A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out.
Leviticus 6:6

         Convince me otherwise.
While centuries of prayer
Fall to ground underdeemed--
         Lived once--failing to keep
         A body moved and complete,
                        I don't suggest we return
To offerings or dream about
The world-to-come--no.
All I say is to remember
         More than just prayer.
                Remember we have forgotten
         How to keep this fire from
                Burning out, how to keep
                It burning for God.
Remember Miriam
And her unwavering
Eye for her brother Moses
Hidden in reeds near the Nile.
Later, her song at the sea,
         Her dance: How her body skipped
                Into a light shaken
                         By timbrels--a leap of full
Moon, full awareness of ground.
Remember loss of water
After her death then her brother's
Refusal to believe
At the Rock of Meribah.
        Remember the wells once
        Springing from inside mountains--
                Oh, remember her perpetual
                Flow into godliness.

ROBERT MANASTER has his poetry published or forthcoming in various
publications including Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion, The
Literary Review, Kerem, and International Poetry Review. His poem "The
Heart of Redemption" appeared in the Fall 2000 issue.