I Was at Sinai – A Shavuot Poem

I was at Sinai

I remember what I was wearing
what the ground felt like
who was standing next to me

the looks on everyone’s face
when Moses came down with the stones
telling us, this is gonna be good
pay attention people
you’ll be telling your children about this

I was at Sinai
my wisdom was young and old then
now I’m just old and my wisdom
has left the building or
maybe it’s still at the mountain

I was at Sinai well before they put in the gift shop
Back when the only gift was a golden calf and in the end
no-one wanted it
Not our best moment, but it was our moment
we’ve had so many moments
like remember the time when

When I was at Sinai
we didn’t look at our watches
Forget about the fact that there weren’t watches
we didn’t even want them

Don’t you get it, we’re still there now
we are all a part of the circle
we are the beginning and the end
we receive it every day
This is your permanent online status

Sinai was the first place we held hands
but not the last, in fact I never let go
we are still holding hands
I choose to be a part of the circle
as if I have a choice

I could ignore the circle
travel a thousand miles from the circle
but turn around and see I haven’t gone anywhere
It’s a big circle orbiting you Sinai
where the property values are holding steady

Oh Sinai, to say I was with you is to pretend I left
is to conceive I was ever anywhere else

Oh Sinai, I tweet your commandments to the masses
I spin around in your circle
I see the world through your eyes

your holy eyes

Los Angeles poet Rick Lupert created the Poetry Super Highway (an online publication and resource for poets), and hosted the Cobalt Cafe weekly poetry reading for almost 21 years. He’s authored 23 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “I’m a Jew, Are You” (Jewish themed poems) and “Feeding Holy Cats” (Poetry written while a staff member on the first Birthright Israel trip), and most recently “Hunka Hunka Howdee!” (Poems written in Memphis, Nashville, and Louisville – Ain’t Got No Press, May 2019) and edited the anthologies “Ekphrastia Gone Wild”, “A Poet’s Haggadah”, and “The Night Goes on All Night.” He writes the daily web comic “Cat and Banana” with fellow Los Angeles poet Brendan Constantine. He’s widely published and reads his poetry wherever they let him.