Rosh Chodesh Aftermath

by Anita Pulier

Rosh Chodesh, the day celebrating the arrival of the new Jewish month, has long been recognized as a woman's holiday.

We have come to

a tribal meet up:

women welcoming a new moon.

This gathering reminds us

of the 60s and long dormant labels,

feminist, radical, activist.

We introduce ourselves to

strangers and friends,

atheists, believers, sceptics.

We bow to ancestral wisdom, 

cycles and moons,

tie ribbons on trees,

form a circle, hold hands,

listen, look up,

speak of the women

who raised us,

share stories, not all good.

After a pot luck dinner

and a poem or two

about aging and death.

We talk, visit, sip wine.

Not much else happens.

We gather empty casseroles

dig out car keys,

and buckle up

which is when we

find ourselves smiling

at that sliver of moon 

a bit surprised that

something so old

can seem so new.

* * * * *

After retiring from her law practice, Anita Pulier served as a U. S. representative for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom at the United Nations.

Her chapbooks Perfect Diet, The Lovely Mundane and Sounds Of Morning as well as her book The Butchers Diamond were published by Finishing Line Press. Anita’s poems have appeared both online and in print in many journals and several anthologies. Recently she has been the featured poet on The Writers Almanac.