Dear Danny,
Thank you for the journal.
It had,
until last month,
Lay dormant in its box--
corners broken,
worn flat
from too many moves.
Thank you for the glimpse
inside
my 13-year-old mind.
The self-portrait
of a not-quite child,
not-quite young woman,
standing on the brink
of Jewish adulthood.
The pink-festooned pages on which I dutifully recorded
"Favorite Movie: Back to the Future
Favorite Actress: Molly Ringwald"
(in pencil, in case I changed my mind)
remain mercifully smudge free.
My tentative scrawling
and belabored cursive
detail my thoughts
before, during and after
the event itself.
A thoughtful present then—
A treasured blessing now,
as I face
the same milestone
30 years later
With my not-quite child,
not-quite young woman,
standing on the brink
of her own Jewish adulthood.
She asks, "What were you feeling?"
I can point to the words,
line by line,
a secular D'var Torah
providing insight and commentary
into the scrolls of our own
Book of Life.
What a gift.
Your friend,
Allyson
