Today my rabbi said

The opposite of re-member

is dis-member.¹

A memory a collection of fragments,

radiant points

torn and stitched

into something resembling a quilt,

maybe,

or a curse.

Or a map.

The Angel of History² stands,

back to the future,

wings wide

against

the storm,

Rubble at her feet.

One single catastrophe.

I remember sunlight,

and I remember love

before I knew what else

there was.

I remember death

that is not mine.

I remember what I’m forbidden

to forget.

I dis-member the angel’s back,

Turn her around, root

her feet in the Earth.

I re-member her wings,

Brush the dust from her cheek,

Pitch an umbrella.

When I leave the synagogue,

it’s raining hard.

A silent prayer

takes the shape of a vow.

I will make my memory

a blessing.

¹ Rabbi Sami

² Walter Benjamin, On the Concept of History, thesis IX

Olivia Wohlgemuth is a College third-year. She was inspired by the story of Passover and the potential to use her Judaism for collective liberation.