Based on the story of Joseph’s revelation of his identity to his brothers: “Joseph could no longer control himself . . . His sobs were so loud that the Egyptians could hear (Genesis 45:1-2).“
On that day, the earth shook with sorrow
and the farmer who was seeding, paused mid-row
to hear the cry of the mighty viceroy,
all the tears of years not shed for fear
of being flooded – now they swell the Nile.
You come now, Judah, as a lion so bold
Where were you when I was sold;
Alone, I ached in my prison cell
of memory, of home, of being loved.
God blessed me then to forget,
but now, you’ve wrenched the gates asunder
by the sword word Avi, my father, my father.
My cry, like a frog’s elongated tongue, extends
way past where you think it should end.
I let it go on for hours and miles
Until, on its own, it tires and expires
And when I release this smoldering grief,
an Angel-in-waiting blows it back sweet.
Ani Yosef – I am born afresh
into a love with no heaviness.
Geshu na elay. Come close, my brothers;
See how my tears on your shoulders
sprout seeds of fierce forgiveness.
Come close, my brothers. Come close.
On this day, the earth dances so softly with us.
