First Lesson in Faith
       

Even the blank spaces
are God given, the rabbi explained
while unrolling the scroll. Focus
on a letter and you'll find
beneath the black ink, another one
etched in white.

Leaning forward, I squinted one eye,
then the other. Keep looking,
he urged, his pointer
circling the parchment. We lingered
like two figures in an unlit field, he,
with his outstretched arm, insisting,

and I, scanning the heavens.
Yes, there it is,
I finally declared,
as I used to while waiting
for Orion's belt to emerge
from three lonely stars.

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Copyright © 2021 Jane Schapiro All rights reserved
from Warbler
Kelsay Books
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission