The seed of an idea<\/p>\n
(And the idea of a seed)<\/p>\n
Planted:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Work it, Man, by the sweat<\/p>\n
Of your skin and the dirt<\/p>\n
Under your fingernail; shape<\/p>\n
It, Divine Creature, by the<\/p>\n
Image of your beauty and the<\/p>\n
Imagination of your innocence.<\/p>\n
Let your soul kiss the soil, your<\/p>\n
Mind cultivate the land, your<\/p>\n
Heart pound the earth like a<\/p>\n
Conun-drum to a heavenly beat.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Six years hoe it, sow it and grow it<\/p>\n
Plant it, rant it and rave<\/p>\n
Field it, shield it and save<\/p>\n
Rare it, care it, steer it<\/p>\n
Shear it (and even share it).<\/p>\n
Make the best of the land<\/p>\n
Given to you, the most of<\/p>\n
Your talents and opportunities \u2013<\/p>\n
And, I know they will make the most<\/p>\n
Of you.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Six years, turn the earth into a paradise,<\/p>\n
Tearfully and painfully, no rest or respite<\/p>\n
(How could you when the earth awaits?):<\/p>\n
Take the barren desert and make it an<\/p>\n
Avant-garden.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When you come to the
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Land that I give you
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
The land will rest
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
A Shabbat for G-d<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
O, but on the seventh \u2013<\/p>\n
A lullaby to the land:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Close your eyes and drift away<\/p>\n
Lying on a fragile bed of leaves<\/p>\n
Your tendrils fly loose and your<\/p>\n
Vines blow softly in the breeze.<\/p>\n
Rest now, my peaceful flower,<\/p>\n
Your eyelashes fluttering over<\/p>\n
Rose-petal cheeks, pomegranate<\/p>\n
Lips formed into a child\u2019s smile,<\/p>\n
And your tall grasses rise and fall<\/p>\n
With every breath of pulsating<\/p>\n
Existence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This here is the rest of the song<\/p>\n
And the song of rest \u2013<\/p>\n
A lullaby:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Earth at rest and heaven wide-awake<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It sings quietly to earth, soothing its<\/p>\n
Aching limbs and tired muscles<\/p>\n
Exhausted and drained, once sore<\/p>\n
Now soaring in a land of dreams<\/p>\n
And dreams of a land \u2013<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dreamland:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Where hopes run wild and the future is today.<\/p>\n
Where we don\u2019t have to prune or preen, for<\/p>\n
Things grow divinely without the need of Man<\/p>\n
To imp and impede: natural the way it was meant<\/p>\n
To be. Six years it may take to tame the earth<\/p>\n
But, then, only one \u2013 the seventh \u2013 to touch heaven.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But how, how to recognize the heaven in earth,<\/p>\n
The soul in body, the colorful bloom in dirty soil?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
G-d spoke to Moshe
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
On Mount Sinai\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From the mountain it comes<\/p>\n
And into the man (and land) it goes:<\/p>\n
Torah, the Word of G-d,<\/p>\n
Creates reality and dreams<\/p>\n
(Not, heaven forbid, do dreams and reality create Torah)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At Sinai a reality and dream was given<\/p>\n
In it\u2019s entirety:<\/p>\n
Not only the symphony<\/p>\n
But every individual key<\/p>\n
Major or minor, sharp or flat \u2013<\/p>\n
Noteworthy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From the mountain to the land<\/p>\n
A dream inching toward reality,<\/p>\n
Toward a Dreamland:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dream peacefully, Earth \u2013<\/p>\n
And awake more peacefully yet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n