Blowing the Shofar

John Marsh

The human breath rushed through an animal’s horn

Once it was common

Regularly echoing off sheep strewn hillsides,

Ordinary as a bit of sparkle on a rain washed city sidewalk

Now it calls from a distant past

“Does anybody here know the right way to blow this thing?”

The right way to blow a shofar is so that it reverberates somewhere inside:

Awakening, disturbing, embarrassing, unsettling, intruding,

Eliciting giggles, provoking reflection

Why do I do the things I do?

Who have I shortchanged?

How can I do better?

Have you been perfect this past year? Then the Days of Awe will be boring for you

The Shofar is sounding. (sound the Shofar)

How much honesty can I bare?

The shofar is sounding. (sound the Shofar)

The book of life is open

The shofar is sounding. (sound the Shofar)

The hand is writing

The shofar is sounding. (sound the Shofar)

L’ Shana Tova

May you be inscribed in the book of life for a good year.