God spoke to Moses saying, “Consecrate to Me, from among the Israelites, every firstborn of man or beast—the first issue of every womb; it is Mine.” ~ Exodus 13:2
Sometimes I want to tell my son
I’ll turn this thing right around
whatever the thing might be.
The car, the TV show, the video game,
the dinner, the stereo, the movie,
the allowance – I’ll turn it all right around.
You never know when he’s louder than
I want him to be, or I find popcorn embedded
in the carpet leading to his room
Or his hamper door isn’t closed as
much as I think it should be. Did I mention
he’s louder than I want him to be, sometimes?
I’m in a constant state of wanting to
turn the whole thing right around.
I realize now, as my first-born
he isn’t even mine. The Holy One
laid claim to him right after we
were brought out of Egypt –
right after the first-born of the
Egyptians were taken. God, apparently
has a thing for firsts.
I’ll send you right back to the Holy One
I could tell him when the steering wheel
of my car, which he drives around
like he’s number one, is stickier than
I want it to be. (Hand washing isn’t just
a pandemic comfort thing.)
But I won’t tell him any of these things
because, like me, and like us, he’ll
have his own things to tell his first-born
about what they should do
with all the knowledge he learned
about how to do the things he does
on his way to his own promised land.
Rick Lupert, a poet, songleader and graphic designer, is the author of 28 books including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion.” Visit him at www.JewishPoetry.net
