A Penitent's Tale Begins
by Michael Doyle

What do we do then when we awake
To find our life has been a mistake
What then is life if we do not grow
Examined questions offer answers yet to know

There is greatness in  the sum of what is read
As its lessons spin roundabout in our heads
With words engraved that yet speak to me and you
And somehow draw us closer to what is true

Once the Romans put down a great Jewish insurgency
With such fury as if seeking to remove God's legacy
Spilling blood of Jews and toppling the Temple in defile
Such as escaped only the Bible, Rabbis, Jews into exile

Only the Rabbis were left to expound on ancient belief
While in diaspora, the Jews sustained despite grief
Continuing on despite their embittered state of persecution
Clinging to heritage as God's chosen institution

Yiddish became the Germanic dialect of lore
That sprang up in poetry, prose, and something more
Yet, even assimilated Jews were treated as stranger
And knew themselves to always live in a state of danger

Isaac Singer was rich to the depths of his blessed soul
As he took his place in his story teller's dutiful role
The first time in Jerusalem, he visited the Wailing Wall
He met a Penitent whose tale was told best he could recall

It is a tale of a type meant to change another's life
Bringing completeness where once was only strife
A tale it seems to tell what a life has been been
Even for the righteous who fled from the world's sin

(c) February 9, 2022   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved