Yom Kippur Is Late

The elders say that tonight is a special night,
for tonight our God on High
seals the Book of Life,
the record of all those chosen for life,
happiness, good spirit, love, wealth,
poverty, hate, war, famine, lust,
greed, honesty, gluttony, peace,
until not even God knows
how to separate the Heavens from the Earth.

But what if our high god
becomes frightened of the awesome power
and dread unleashed?

And how can we know what kind of happiness
waits in store for us?

Perhaps it is the joy that comes
from the discovery of a new idea,
or the excitement upon discovering
a new source of love,
or perhaps the glory of basking
in the beauty of the Earth.

Perhaps it is the kind of happiness
that comforts a mourner
in the calm, dark hours after the tears stop falling,
or the pride in having overcome great odds
to make a difference to a single person,
or perhaps it is merely the comfort in knowing
that even the deepest of tragedies
has a greater Purpose.