Yizkor

We, who never touch,
have been trained not to,
need, now to touch:
to stand close,
feel arms skim,
breathe the same air,
press salted cheeks,
grasp soft warmth.

Whatever it takes
to feel each other’s
life,
know that we are
still alive,
that our hearts
pulse.

Peace be with you.
And also with you.

We are afraid
to close our eyes.
Afraid of small spaces.
Afraid of being alone.
These things she knew
would come, did.

There but for the grace
we pray.
Give us this day
Your eternal light.
We are so afraid
Of the dark.

***

Judith J. Katz is Lead Teacher for Creative Writing at the Cooperative Arts High School in New Haven, Connecticut, where her signature courses focus on writing poetry. Her work has been published in Edify Fiction Literary Journal, The New Sound Literary Journal, Of Sun and Sand, and has been a first runner-up in the Kind of a Hurricane Press’s Editor’s Choice Awards and has received an NEH grant to study Emily Dickinson.