THOUGHTS ON THIS FRIDAY NIGHT

 I went to the Chabad House

For Shabbat services and dinner

They sing with passion

The men locked arms

I still can’t help but think

About when I walked into

An unnamed co-worker’s office

Who was with three others

Talking about Christmas presents

And told me get out cause I had Hanukkah

Ralphie one of the guys present

Said you can’t be Jewish

Cause he didn’t know

I wish I could wash it off

They make it feel 

Like an illness

THE RELIGION OF NO NAME

In front of the altar 

I have my secret mantra

In Sanskrit

And reciting it

Lowers my blood pressure

The Rabbi told me I was crazy

Come to get an aliyah

On Shabbat

I’m trying that out too

And liked the rush of being onstage

When I climbed the steps of the church

On Park Place

The Irish priest welcomed me

I would be forgiven for all this

He told me

They say the early Christians drank

A potion from a chalice

Once a year

Something like Carlos Castanada

And peyote

I think I’ll try that too

What the heck

You only live once

Paul Schaeffer is a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn. He has an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MPA from New York University. Paul is a certified yoga instructor and daily meditation practitioner.  He works as the Director of Administration at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Public Health Laboratory; the laboratory conducts critical clinical and environmental testing to keep the City safe. Paul is married to Lorena from Buenos Aires and has two children, Lucas and Hannah. Paul has published one book of poetry, The Cruelties of Brooklyn (Box Turtle Press, 2023).

Image: Uoaei1, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons