Towards a Progressive neo-Hasidism
Tkhines for a Pimple
Julie Enszer
Baruch atah Shekinah
Blessed be she
May your light lessen
the giant pimple
growing on the side
of my nose
red and oozing with pus
May sun dry
this inflamed skin
may pustules empty
and heal clear
may the hormonal rage
erupting in my skin
lessen as the days pass
May healthy skin emerge
unblemished
Marathon (3) by Henry Rosenberg
Tkhines for
Abnormal Menses
Sarah Rebecca Leah Rivkah
You know the years and years of
regular menses
every twenty-eight days
or thirty-one days
and a patter of bleeding
three to seven days
but now the blood is no longer
predictable
now the blood comes at any time
or doesn’t come at all
it is clotty and dark
or grey and thin
it is not like it was
and I want it to just
end gracefully
but the gynecologist
spouts statistics
and raises the specter
of cancer and
I want your strength my foremothers
I want your long long lives
Tkhines for
Plunging a Toilet
Baruch atah Shekinah
Spirit of the universe
who brings dignity
to all life on earth
to all labor
necessary for the sustainment
of human life
the the work of
plunging this toilet
with disintegrating
toilet paper floating
in the bowl
a clog that exceeds the usual one plunge
a clog that requires robust plunging
and bailing of the gray water
more plunging
oh great one
clear this clog
and send me on my day
free and unplugged
with a strong flush
a solid swoosh
in the bowl
Julie Enszer
Julie R. Enszer, PhD, is the author of four poetry collections, including Avowed, and the editor of OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture, Fire-Rimmed Eden: Selected Poems by Lynn Lonidier, The Complete Works of Pat Parker, and Sister Love: The Letters of Audre Lorde and Pat Parker 1974-1989. Enszer edits and publishes Sinister Wisdom, a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal. You can read more of her work at www.JulieREnszer.com.
