So already, before I present to you a poem I wrote yesterday and revised this morning, a few pieces of information—and one apology.

• The Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av begins on Saturday evening, August 2 and extends through Sunday, August 3. These Gregorian 2025 calendar dates correspond to the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av 5785 and the evening before it. On 9 Av, the destruction of both Temples and a number of other terrible events in Jewish history occurred.*

• Jews are supposed to fast and mourn on this day, which commemorates the loss of human lives, as well as of the places where Jews communally and individually conducted their religious and personal lives.

• My nuclear family didn’t observe this holiday— I think we were often on summer vacation when it came around. I explored it more when I decided to become more intentionally and knowledgeably Jewish.

• I still have an ambivalent relationship with this holiday, though intellectually I understand its purpose and its place in Jews’ atonement-centered spiritual preparation for the High Holy Days.

• I may have to atone for writing this poem.

• “Tanakh” is the Hebrew word (thank you, Google AI) for “the Hebrew Bible, . . . the foundational religious text of Judaism. The term "Tanakh" is an “acronym formed from the first Hebrew letters of its three main sections: Torah (תּוֹרָה, ‘Instruction’ or ‘Law’) . . ., Nevi'im (נְבִיאִים, ‘Prophets’) . . ., [and] Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים, ‘Writings’) . . ..”

• I am hoping that when I publish this post, the form of the poem will be preserved; if it’s not, I’ll put a comment to that effect below the post.

• My apologies to those of you who receive email notifications of my posts: I’ve posted a lot during the month of July, more than I told you to expect I would.

So now that you’ve been briefed, warned, and apologized to, here’s my poem related to this year’s holiday of Tisha B’Av.

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Tisha B’Av ‘25

 

In my shame,

     I can’t grieve for

          your destruction

 

 this year.

     All seems

          artifice

 

despite your

     eternal holiness

          humbly upheld

 

prescribed

     and guided

          by Tanakh.

 

I believe

     what I behold

          in the news today,

 

though tragedy,

     I’m told,

          is propaganda

 

by which my eyes and heart,

     I’m told,

          are made fools.

 

What I see today

     made rubble

          are clinics

 

and tubes

     that once carried

          fluids and meds,

 

healing those

     into whom

          they flowed.

 

Hostages, I don’t forget you

     or your loved ones

          huddled in safe rooms.

 

But the buildings

     I mourn this season

          this year

 

are schools, houses,

     and hospitals

          in another city.

 

Forgive me.

  

* Screen shot of this painting—”The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans A.D. 70, David Roberts 1850 Collection of Yeshiva University Museum” accompanying the following article: Farber, Z. (2025). Tisha B’Av: On what day were the Jerusalem temples destroyed? The Torah—com, Academic Torah Institute. https://www.thetorah.com/article/tisha-b-av-on-what-day-were-the-jerusalem-temples-destroyed

** Screen shot of photo by Dawoud Abu Alkas accompanying the following article: Reuters. (2024, April 3). Many patients of destroyed Gaza hospital will die if not evacuated, WHO chief warns. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/many-patients-destroyed-gaza-hospital-will-die-if-not-evacuated-who-chief-warns-2024-04-03/

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novel for Pilgrims, Walkers, and Others Needing Boots and Reboots

So already, as many of you already know, I have moved my blog from Blogger to Substack. This way, "So Already" readers who want to receive emails notifying them that I have posted can do so. 

'Tis the season of summer reading. That's what's had me reading and writing about Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

So if you'd like to read "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novel for Pilgrims, Walkers, and Others Needing Boots and Reboots," here's the link:
https://joansowhat.substack.com/p/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold

 

Thank you for reading, if you do. And feel free to subscribe for free.

For Love of Students: Yes, No, and Maybe . . .

So already, as many of you already know, I have moved my blog from Blogger to Substack. This way, "So Already" readers who want to receive emails notifying them that I have posted can do so. 

A number of "stimulI"--political, Jewish, and poetry-related--have me writing about education this week. Each of these stimuli got me thinking about students both as groups and as individuals. 

So if you'd like to read "For Love of Students: Yes, No, and Maybe . . .," here's the link--https://joansowhat.substack.com/p/for-love-of-students

 

Thank you for reading, if you do. And feel free to subscribe for free.

"And They Lived Happily Ever After": Reflections on a Famous Final Sentence

So already, as many of you already know, I have moved my blog from Blogger to Substack. This way, those those who want to receive emails notifying them that I've posted can do so.  

Blame the post linked here on my recent visit to the Hallmark channel. Ever since watching the final scenes of "Crown for Christmas," I've been musing on the familiar sentence “And they lived happily ever after”* that often ends fairy tales and romances.

 

So if you'd like to read "'And They Lived Happily Ever After. . . . : Reflections on a Famous Final Sentence," here's the link--https://joansowhat.substack.com/p/and-they-lived-happily-ever-after

 

Thank you for reading, if you do. And feel free to subscribe for free.

As Far (and Near) as the Eye Can Sze

So already, as many of you already know, I have moved my blog from Blogger to Substack so that those who want to receive emails letting them know I've posted can do so. 

 

Recently, I've been musing on time, age, and some recent experiences of writing poetry. The year 2025 has entered its second half, and time is marching  forward for us all. My most recent Substack blog post/newsletter also includes my thoughts about  Arthur Sze's poem  "Under a Supermoon" in the July issue of The Atlantic.

 

If you'd like to read "As Far (and Near) as the Eye Can Sze," here's the link--https://joansowhat.substack.com/p/as-far-and-near-as-the-eye-can-sze

 

Thank you for reading, if you do. And feel free to subscribe for free.