Full Stop

A poem by Jena Schwartz

Before we begin 

our long Jewish goodbye 

to this eternal year

let us come to a complete stop

Not a rolling stop 

not a noncommittal stop

not a half-hearted stop 

not a stop for show 

not a stop for credit 

not a stop because we should

not an asleep-at-the-wheel stop 

but an all-the-way, on-purpose stop

a stop for the sake of our souls

a stop for the sake of the souls

of those nearest and dearest to us

and a stop for those nearest and dearest 

to those nearest and dearest to us 

and so on and so forth

Let this stop be a stone dropped into still waters

rippling outward and outward

until we can no longer see 

where our stopping began

and the range of its reach 

After we’ve stopped

let us empty our pockets

of all that we’re carrying – 

the shame, the anger, the fear, the blame, 

the self-recrimination and the self-righteousness, 

the perfectionism, the arrogance, 

the aloneness, the regret,

the short-sightedness and impatience

And let us also inventory

the gratitude, the joy,

the wonder, the surprises, 

the laughter, the blessings, 

the connections, the gifts, 

the grace, the pockets of peace,

however brief. 

Then we’ll bring it all to the field

where maybe G-d is waiting,

longing for us to sit alone together,

to study each faceted jewel

of aliveness, to review all the stories

we let others write for us,

the offerings we failed

to receive, the teachers

we didn’t recognize.

Bring them all here.

Bring them all home.

This is the time to give ourselves time. 

To stop, to study, to leave nothing unseen.   

Hear Jena read her poem:

Full Stop by Jena Schwartz

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Jena Schwartz is a poet, essayist, and writing coach. A mom to two young adults, Jena turned 50 this year and has the smile lines to prove it. She lives in Longmeadow, Massachusetts with her spouse of 10 years and their very spoiled English bulldog, Chalupa Jane Schwartz, Esq.

Image by Linus Nylund