Lag B’Omer

I was thinking about three things while writing this poem. 

1. Many Jewish holidays and yahrzeits are marked by lighting candles. On Lag B’Omer, we mark the end of a mourning period by lighting a bonfire. A bonfire exudes much more light than a candle. What is meant to be illuminated on Lag B’Omer that doesn’t receive as much light on other days of the year?

2. While a candle can be lit individually, a bonfire is meant to be kept and enjoyed by a community. A few weeks ago, Simone Rotman gathered friends for a beach bonfire in celebration of her birthday. After an ocean dip, Lior Kishinevsky explained the cute science of bonfires–that if everyone is gathered closely in a circle around the fire pit, the smoke has nowhere to escape but up. Therefore, wrapping our arms around each other prevents the smoke from flooding one unfortunate individual’s face. 

3. The warm memory of celebrating Lag B’Omer at Hillel this year. A lot of students worked very hard to put on the event, and it served the community beautifully. There was so much joy in the air that evening, which only intensified when we transitioned to the firepit. Singing around a bonfire is such a classic bonding experience that channels ‘soulfulness’ and a gratitude toward the people around us. I am always amazed by the power of music and the shared responsibility of keeping a fire alive. (On a personal note, I had so much fun jamming on the ukulele next to Allen with his guitar and singing with a community that makes me feel so loved. My 20th birthday has become one of my favorite memories). 

With that in mind, I hope you enjoy my poem, “Lag B’Omer.”

Lag B’Omer

1. I know us by a series of candles.

2. Wax formations raise mountain ranges

3. dripping vital colors as we design our landmarks. 

4. I incarnate bright eyes at my fingertips

5. disguised by a lapse in light years.

6. We pretend time is soft to the touch

7. and countable as the strands of gravity 

8. braided in our hair, sizzling when brushed 

9. across this stubborn sweetness–

10. The musicality of string and song 

11. in one breath: Your lips, our milky way.

12. Your expression, the universe.

13. I want to know everything. 

14. The peaks and valleys of your portrait.

15. The orbit of glances exchanged 

16. through the smolder and cellophane.

17. To be recognized by light, remembered by warmth, 

18. held by a circle of friends–

19. Perfectly arranged so that no one faces 

20. the smoke alone, so that storm clouds 

21. are coerced back towards the cosmos 

22. until they find somewhere to fall nose over toes,

23. swooning through the root system that is our legacy, 

24. filling cups and buckets to hand off 

25. when we notice emptiness,

26. to put out the fires when some star

27. flies too close to our earth.

28. In pitch forest, we help another

29. cut off the burdens that eclipse 

30. our sunshine, your voice and hand

31. that has led me to the land of honey 

32. and firewood. That has taught me 

33. to see and be seen in the dark.