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O My America: Blessings for 5776
by Lawrence Bush
O MY AMERICA
in this Jewish new year
the 5776th year
of the young Earth of the old Testament
only 4,000 years older than your Declaration
I bless you
I wish for your
Abundance to flow
like your rivers through your valleys,
for your
Immigrant voice
to sing like gathering birds in late afternoon,
for your
Children to run patterns on your diamonds, courts, and fields,
for your
Ex-slaves to be paid richly from every harvest
I wish for your genius
to free us from unneeded labor
to free us to love our lives together
I wish for your name
to be invoked
not in lust but in gratitude
like the name of a mother
who sees to the family
with fire, salt, and lullabyes.
I wish for your might
to be harnessed
like a pony to a buggy
on a spring morning
as the dew lifts
and we, in pursuit of happiness,
go bouncing along.
Lawrence Bush is the editor of Jewish Currents.
