Psalm

 By Harvey Shapiro

I am still on a rooftop in Brooklyn on your holy day. The harbor is before me, Governor’s Island, Verrazano Bridge and the Narrows. I keep in my head what Rabbi Nachman said about the world being a narrow bridge and that the important thing is not to be afraid. So on this day I bless my mother and father, that they be not fearful where they wander. And I ask you to bless them and before you close your Book of Life, your Sefer Hachayim, remember that I always praised your world and your splendor, and that my tongue tried to say your name on Court Street in Brooklyn. Take me safely through the Narrows to the sea.