Under the rubble of collapsed hope
on the beach near Miami
a lost paradise now lies shattered
in a million pieces of concrete.

Hope is resilient and sends heroes to the top of that heap
of shattered dreams and twisted steel
while anxious family and friends
stand guard by the ruins of life and sudden tragedy.

War has taught us about missing bodies
and lost souls
but nothing prepares us for the earth swallowing us
like a nightmare in the desert of misfortune.

Shard by shard
bucket by bucket
millions of pounds of debris are lifted
from our hearts
only leaving us pressed between fear and
remote possibilities of salvation.

We lift our eyes to the cranes
and swirling emergency lights
in search of clues
that hope is not buried
but is alive somewhere
inside us.

Rabbi Lance J. Sussman, Ph.D.
June 29, 2021