Matot-Masei 鈥� tribes / journeys (Numbers 30:2鈥�36:13)

Like the ancient Israelites
I have encamped in many places.

It all started in New Jersey, but
I have no memory of the vows

that were said there. My tent moved
to Plantation, Florida, where

I almost lost track of all of my
ancestors. I remember the sky

exploding in 1976. We were nomads
and seen enough, we packed it all

and found ourselves in Syracuse, New York.
This was my mother鈥檚 promised land.

This is where her father and grandfather
slept on a stone. This is the place

she was told to go. The diaspora
called, and California became

my holy land. This was my wilderness.
This is where revelation happened

for me. I earned the right to put my feet
where I wanted, in California.

This is where I was given land and
forgot about the Canaanites who

lived on this hill before me.
I became the leader of my own tribe.

I made vows left and right.
I try to keep them all.

I鈥檓 as perfect
as any leader.

Rick Lupert, a poet, songleader and graphic designer, is the author of 29 books including 鈥淕od Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion.鈥� Visit him at