a new lay upon this lute for You
Let me hum the new day
of loose strife and lily
Let prayer plant and mallow
Let heads and hearts let heels
and thumbs feathers and fins
and all things fleet and slug
antennae’d and furred
all sing all shirr all rub and buzz
and fling their call to You
in song-light as the mist still clings
as the settled dew thins
as all attendant things
in Your rising yolk-red grin
unfold and re-begin.
Published in Nextbook [online] from “Of Hours: A Jewish Book of Hours.”
Sharon Dolin is the author of five poetry books, most recently, “Whirlwind” (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012). She has been awarded the 2013 Witter Bynner Fellowship from the Library of Congress.
