By Lindsay Soberano

To me, the point of our prayers

is that they may reach Israel

through sound waves

like a wave, a wave of energy

blessing it thoroughly

and as I walked out from the subway

and through the door

I thought I heard praying

the kind that would seep out of holy windows

in the old city of Jerusalem

and then I thought that it was just the wind

the wind that carries our messages

the wind that is mute, silenced, and yet howling, pushing

the unspeakable to far off distances

from our perched lips

the wind, filling us with all of those unutterable words

like a mediator

but then I realized that the sound was artificial

like everything else on our manmade earth

the vacuum was blowing, sucking and inhaling our souls

into a brown paper bag that is choking us

what of the prayers, you ask?

what of?

it looks as though the prayers aren’t moving

they just aren’t circulating, just aren’t churning

Biography

Lindsay Soberano holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Creative Writing from Concordia University and a Masters degree in English from the University of Toronto. She has had numerous articles and poems published in Canadian publications, such as The Jewish Tribune, Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine, Canadian Woman Studies Journal, and most recently, Yalla Journal, which is a compilation of writing by Jewish and Arab writers that promotes dialogue on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She continues to pursue a career in writing, while also pursuing a career as a high school English and Drama teacher.