INBOX: There’s This Phenomenon; We Can’t Help It, But It’s True

The following poem was written by Aidel Klein, a 12th-grade Bais Rivka student. The message, written in the moment, captures the rollercoaster of emotions following the Bondi Beach terror attack.

There’s this phenomenon
Where we wait for the darkness to descend before go out to fight it
We wait for the night to fall before we try to ignite it
We can’t help it, but it’s true
We feel the need to light up the world only when it’s at its most dark
When torches are extinguished, that’s when we feel our own spark
It’s our reality as we know it.
And so in the wake of this pain, it’s our time to rise,
Bring fire to the world, illuminate the shadows with light
And while we face the world with weight on our shoulders
Our captain told us what to do, and we will follow his orders
They sought, and they seek to destroy us
To make us disappear
And so we must stand taller and more firm
Go out with shoulders squared
Appearing in the exact way they wished to destroy
Adding into the world more love and more joy
Denying their wishes just by the way we dress
My actions speak louder words than I could ever express
To combat the forces of darkness with light of our own
Uplifting the world one deed at a time until it’s a place that He can call home
There’s a concept that explains that humans will fill the time allotted to them
And so, only when there is pressure do we hurry to reach the end
Except
Again and again, we realize that the pressure is on
It might seem like the finish line is far away
But time wasted is gone
I will make the mission mine
And somehow, someway,
shorten the deadline,
And bring Moshiach now.