Ode to Found Love on Kibbutz
Flowers, dirt, and stray cats
Dogs that bark at midnight
The cow-infused downwind from the refet at 4:30 pm…
My children at 4:30 pm…
My husband at 4:30 pm…
Taking the trash out in my pajamas
Dressing up in grownup clothes for Shabbat
Singing Shiru L’adonai
Picking up snails, picking up trash
Picking up friends at the park
Showing up.
Talking when I’m most afraid to talk.
Finding out someone else is pregnant
Thanking God it’s not me.
Shnitzel, shwarma, and secondhand smoke
(Yes, sometimes secondhand smoke)
The beach and the sunset and the Jerusalem stone
And the kibbutz children, my children
Who pepper my pictures with delight.