Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Life

POEM: A Single Woman Argues with Ecclesiastes

Two are better than one

proclaimed the ancient preacher.

Because, essentially, together they produce more income.

But what if one cannot work?

And even if both are skilled and able-bodied and employable,

who will watch the children?

Two are better than one

said the son of David.

Because they can lie together for warmth,

and how can one be warm alone?

Thank goodness, then, for down comforters

and modern heating.

Two are better than one

declared the king of Jerusalem.

For if one falls, the other shall lift; woe to the one

who is alone when she falls.

A thought: assisted living.

Another: Life Alert ®.

Two are better than one

continued Kohelet.

For if an antagonist appears, the two will stand against him

with strength one cannot possess.

Here, I have no counter-argument.

I simply—singly—hope for the best.

Erika Dreifus writes prose and poetry in New York. Visit her online at ErikaDreifus.com and follow her on Twitter @ErikaDreifus, where she tweets “on matters bookish and/or Jewish.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.