A fetus floating in the bliss of the womb
A seed burrowed in the soft damp earth
A butterfly still in its cocoon
All of us wrapped in warm blankets at dawn
A people enslaved on the cusp of liberation
Asking no one's permission, the contractions begin
Pushing the baby towards its exit and into the world
The Earth claims the seed's very self as its own
Exchanging it for new plant life which reaches over the surface of the soil
The cocoon falls away leaving the butterfly stunned
Until several days later it flies away
The morning light filters in through the windows
The blankets pushed away feet planted on the ground, upright for the day
The multitudes of men, women and children, leaving all they've ever known p
Partially baked matzah bread on their backs, a testament to the hurry
Most of us claim to want growth and evolvement
But sometimes the light is far more terrifying than the dark
It shines and exposes all that is there
There is no where to hide, no way to retreat to the comfort we had in the dark
We are never ready to take that step over the threshold
Like the magic walkways at airports, we are propelled forward
We protest, I'm not ready
Let me at least let my bread rise and bake it properly
But we will never truly be ready
We acclimate to the light once we're already in it, blinking away the darkness
Leaving behind all that no longer serves us
The month of Shvat has just begun
The first signs of spring in the air
The days getting longer
New growth and life beginning to emerge
Like the plant life around us
We are growing, evolving
On the threshold of the next stop on our journeys
Fear not
Step over into the unknown
Who knows what awaits