POEM: Bus Ride, Early September Morning

Image by Getty Images
The young girl, who looks
no older than seven or eight,
her black hair draped
on her arms, leans out
of the bus window
as if she were sleeping.
Only her turquoise and black shirt,
ripped open, and the blood
streak down the side of the bus
tell you she is dead.
In Jerusalem, workers will come
later to remove the onions and grapes,
notebooks and pencils
that litter the street.
The journey began for some
the day before the start
of the new school year
with a trip to the market.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
