I am starving
currently
for a god I don’t much believe in
and a faith I barely have.
I am wasting away
because I am supposed to.

I started my fast early
(so I was quick to fast?
Yes, I suppose so),
so excited was I
to respect the culture I was born into.
Yom Kippur is almost the entirety
of how I celebrate my Judaism.
That,
and Henry Winkler.

For twenty four hours
no food will cross my lips.
I’ll still drink water
so that I can flush the sins
out of my system
metaphorically.
That isn’t the tradition
but it seems somewhat elegant.

I used to have my own tradition
of having
on Yom Kippur
a milkshake
as a midday break from the fast.
Someone explained to me my idiocy
and I stopped with the shakes.
I still seek to wash away the day
in a river of water
despite what elders might think.

My father
a better Jew
than I’ll ever try to be
had not fasted
for several years
so I am ahead
of at least one elder.
Still
I will break my fast early
since I started prematurely.

I am licking my lips
already.