Yesterday I learned that I needed to repent to my younger self. All this time I’ve been carrying him and his tears close to my chest, and we’ve never once set down that emotional baggage and allowed ourselves to live free from it. I’m older now, and I need to tell him that it’s going to be okay. I need to tell myself that, and I need to forgive myself for not accepting it sooner.

There is no part of this journey which is not of G-d’s will. G-d is speaking to us—G-d is speaking through us—we are the words, the thoughts, and the poetry of G-d! And it is the felt absence—the questioning of faith, of identity, of meaning, of existence—that makes the sweetness of this sonnet so beautiful.