Tashlich

And you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. — Micah 7:20

Let me toss these sin sandwiches
into the water, my wrongs ribboned
through the bread. Let them be
the opposite of fortune cookies:

May this never happen
May this never happen
May this never happen

Water, I want to return.
With simple streams of forgetfulness
wash clean this residue of regret —

how I thought I could be made visible
through the wounds I inflict on myself
an intricate tattoo graffitied across my body:

Jessica was here
Jessica was here
Jessica was here
Erase it all so that again
as on the day I was born
my skin will be transparent as fingernail
my true name shining through

Yiskah (Jessica) Rosenfeld teaches workshops combining Jewish mysticism, ritual and creative writing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds an MFA in poetry from Mills College and received the Reuben Rose Memorial Prize in poetry.