And like Esther I spent nights amongst sorrow and joy.
Spent days in contemplation,
thinking on the name of G-d.
I’ve shed tears, fasted,
thrown my hands toward Heaven and prayed for answers.
Is this what it means to be called “daughter?”
Is this what it means to serve for all?

And like Channah I have ground my eyes,
beat my chest,
grasped at an empty womb.
I’ve gone to the Temple,
Seen light burn through an open room.
I, who have wept for sheer love of You,
Is this your grace?

And like Leah and Miriam I have cried,
“Oh, my G-d let us wander no longer,
Let us see Your Truth.” 
My feet trod the path of redemption,
My eyes trained on You.
Is this what it means to live Your Torah?
Is this what it means to rely on You? 

Laurel Faye is an undergraduate student at Georgia State University in the Middle Eastern Studies program. As a multiethnic woman, she draws on the experiences of her culture and her identity as a Mizrahi Jew to inspire her poetry. She has been published in her university’s literary magazine.