Culture

Erev Rosh Hashana 

Hillel Broder

When the world ends:
A face of fear passes 
Like a cloud, draped 
With hints of hope, hiding 

In a sweetened heart. 
When the world ends:
A voice in stillness rises
In a silent scream
(as a fish under water)
To a hidden place.

When the world ends:
A covered moon; 
A lone will; nothing else–
Fortunate are those 
Who remember 
Their souls’ song. 

Hillel Broder has written previously about Jeremiah Lockwood and The Sway Machinery for The Forward. He holds a PhD in English from The Graduate Center, CUNY. Currently, he is a teacher and writer in New York. Follow him on Twitter @hillelbro. He has published two books of Jewish poetry, Counting Spheres and Daily Blessings.