S’fatai tiftach

It sometimes seems that every word of every prayer

Requires a mighty leap of faith.

And I stand shivering in the chill air of doubt

Unready to plunge in.

Reluctantly I work the controls of speech,

All the levers and cables,

And mechanically open my jaw

Part my lips

Articulate one sound

Then another.

A golem

Searching within my own body

For the living soul which

Like a tiny fish in a stream 

Flashes suddenly into sight

And then can hide anywhere.