Poetry

Altar

Begin with stillness. Summon
Courage. Kavanah.
Deliverance.
Essence. A beginning.
Forsythia and the flowers of spring, blossoms, purple iris for the table, tulips so pink
They edge into blue.
Gather your dearest, the lonely within and without.
Hunger. Bring your hunger, your fast.
Indeed, there is much to recall and to hold here, to heal.
Just about everything calls out to you to be done and you must choose the things most
carefully.
Kindness, stay kind. This is important. Bring your
Love of storytelling. Bring
Mystery. Mastery. All this is
Necessary.
Open to the sacred, to the simple.
Pausing, pass over the trifling annoyances, the broken, the missing. Make room for the
Quiet places that long to be seen.
Remember the stories of your past. Conjure up spring and salvation.
Sacrifice those things you no longer need. Remember the
Temples lost and burning. In Paris. In Jerusalem. In yourself. Reach out to the
Universe calling out to you.
Verify, purify your heart.
Wake up to the pain of those around your table.
EXonerate those that have not partaken, not delivered, not arrived. Those who seek.
Yearn for justice and freedom. Bring your
Zeal to the celebration. Bring yourself, your hashtags, your deep desire to connect.
Hold and contain the past, the possible, time no longer linear

Deborah Leipziger

Deborah Leipziger is an author, poet, and advisor on sustainability. Born in Brazil, Ms. Leipziger is the author of several books on sustainability and human rights. Her poems have been published in eight countries, in such magazines and journals as Pangyrus, Salamander, Lily Poetry Review, and Revista Cardenal. She is the co-founder of Soul-Lit, an on-line poetry magazine. Her new collection of poems, Story & Bone, was published in early 2023 by Lily Poetry Review Books. Her chapbook, Flower Map, was published by Finishing Line Press. Her work appears in numerous anthologies, including Tree Lines: 21st Century American Poems.

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