Here I Seek You

Here I seek you in the early morning stillness—
The sun just beginning to rise,
The sky turning from black to pale blue,
All the colors in the world awaiting rebirth.

Ecstatic, I seek you not in the heavens
But instead in the sounds of falling leaves,
The chirp chirp of robins,
In the whoosh of the wind through the maple.

Now as the colors in the sky penetrate
The windows of my room with an unearthly softness
I open my eyes that have been shut all night
And sense the scent of your beauty.

Rested, I match your breathing,
Slowly feel for you
The way a husband feels for his bride
With an ethereal lightness of touch.

Yes, and in that early morning stillness
I turn toward you from the depths of sleep
And say I love you with every last
Atom of my breath.

(This acrostic liturgical poem is intended to precede Nishmat in the shabbat-morning service.)

c 2015 Henry Rasof