Dayenu
“It would have been enough…”
Dayenu is a prayer, traditionally sung during the Jewish holiday of Passover. Its approximate translation from the Hebrew: It would have been enough.
I’m not Jewish, but even those who do not profess a belief can hear in these words a sense of deep gratitude for the gifts one is given.
This is my first year participating in the weekly Poetry Friday roundups. Back in May, I signed on to Tabatha Yeats’ Summer Poem Swap 2022. The idea of sending poetry through the mail – snail mail, at that! – delighted me.
I was not prepared for the shower of gifts that came with this summer’s swaps.
summer reverie
red-winged blackbirds at pond’s edge
coneflowers blooming
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2022
Seeking Silence
©Molly Hogan, 2022
morning glow
River Liffey flows
and I sleep
©Jone Rush MacCulloch, 2022
©Margaret Simon, 2022
Amma,
stare into his tiny face – smell
the freshness of life. cradle the
child of your child, rock him in a sea
of ebbing tides, and
indulge in abay’s soft feel.
body to body. listen to the
coos float into a cerulean sky
as he drifts into a state of bliss. let
all distractions flow out from your
sacred space where your spirit
will awaken with birdson and fly.
©Carol Varsalona, 2022
Not only poems but carefully chosen ways that the poems were created. An embroidered bookmark. Collage art postcards. Poetry notebooks. Original photography notecards. Poems paired with my own photographs. Poem and music pairings. The creativity, the personalization, and the time and care that went into these gifts have left me stunned.
Dayenu. It would have been enough.
Had I received only your beautiful words, it would have been enough.
Had I received your beautiful words and not been gifted with bookmark and artwork and photos, it would have been enough.
Had I been gifted so generously and not been treated to such personalized pairings of poems with my photos, it would have been enough.
The greatest gift I can offer back to you, my poetry swap partners, is your own words. My found poem is composed of a phrase from each of the poems I received this summer.
Poetry Summer
summer reverie
by the River Liffey
lessons from Georgia O’Keefe
seeking silence
your words- the true ones
as he drifts into a state of bliss
©Patricia J. Franz, 2022
Poetry credits belong to:
“summer reverie” from Mary Lee Hahn
“by the River Liffey” and “lessons from Georgia O’Keefe” from Jone Rush MacColloch
“seeking silence” from Molly Hogan
“your words- the true ones” from Margaret Simon
“as he drifts into a state of bliss” from Carol Varsalona
Had I received only your beautiful words, it would have been enough.
Thank you Mary Lee, Jone, Molly, Margaret, and Carol for sharing them with me this summer.
Thank you, Tabatha, for organizing this exchange.
Linda at TeacherDance is our Poetry Friday
round up host this week.Â
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
It would indeed have been enough – but I can sense your cup overflowing in your words and in your lovely tribute of a found poem. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Sally. Indeed, the cup overflows!
The poetry swap is the gift that keeps on giving. You’ve created a beautiful thankyou to all your swapees, Patricia, sharing your feelings through the word “dayenu”, the poets’ words, and finally your own. What beautiful gifts you received.
I will long enjoy the gifts. Thank you for hosting this week, Linda!
Patricia, thank you for sharing your bountiful gifts. I truly enjoyed the experience of swapping and creating a gift for you. I am grateful for your swap to me. I do like your found poem which is nicely put together. I still wonder what digital tool you use for your pictures.
Oh Carol, I felt showered by your gifts! I have carved out this evening to sit and watch the slideshow and listen to the music pairings. 🙂
And the filter I use for my photos is called Clip-to-Comic. Love that app!
I shared your poem swap that you created for me in my post tonight. I can’t wait to try out the app you use. Thanks for sharing that information.
What a beautiful post and found poem of gratitude. It’s such an inspiration to do this swap. I felt I was not meeting expectations with my offerings this summer, but that was really my own expectations. I fell behind due to things that couldn’t be helped. Yet, in the end, I see it was all OK. We have a wonderful community in Poetry Friday and I’m so glad you are a part of it.
We are so hard on ourselves, Margaret. Dayenu!
Dayenu, indeed! Do you know the book MORE THAN ENOUGH by April Halprin Wayland? Its refrain is “dayenu” and it’s gorgeous. Thank you for sharing your Swap beauty, too.
I do not know that book, so I will put on my TBR list now! Thank you, Irene.
A wonderful, gracious post, Patricia! It makes me doubly sad I missed the sign-up for the swap. I’ll have to keep my eyes out. If only we could all be so blessed! I love learning new words, too- so thanks for sharing that, as well!
The swap was a joyful part of my summer. I will look forward to participating again. Thanks, Carol!
So happy to hear how overflowed you are by the generous creativity of this folks! Dayenu indeed, and may we ever be so grateful as you!
Thanks, Heidi. It’s hard not to smile even when we speak the word.
🙂
How beautiful! Poetry and swaps restore my faith in humanity…what a lovely post to highlight what they do for you.
Thank you, Linda. The swaps were a special part of my summer, for sure.
This is absolutely beautiful! What a treasure of words!
It was such fun to participate in the swap this summer. I love knowing other poets are pausing, pondering, and playing with words.
What a lovely way to express gratitude and capture the joy of the Summer Poetry Swap! I was delighted with our swap and touched by your creation of a found poem from all of the poems you received. Also, I appreciate learning this new word: dayenu. Lovely post!
And I just jotted my first poetry note into my Maine jotbook! 🙂
Thank you for a new word and a new way of looking at gratitude. Like Margaret, I struggled with my own expectations when all I sent could fit in an envelope and yet I received BOXES of goodies. One thing in common no matter the size of the gift was the thoughtfulness that went into each one. And that, more than anything, was dayenu.
Already what I’m finding is the continuation of that joy. Your bookmark is traveling through my latest read, SERENGETI: PLAINS OF GRASS (Leslie Bulion). 🙂
Ah, Patricia, what a lovely post of gratitude. “It would have been enough,” indeed. I love seeing all your poetry swaps here together. I’m glad you participated in the fun. It was my first time too.
Right? So fun! Summer felt a bit like Christmas. 🙂
Beautiful post, Patricia! The song “Dayenu” started going through my head as soon as I saw the title (I’m not Jewish, but I’ve been to Jewish services enough to know Dayenu). Wonderful sentiment and connections.
Tabatha, thank you for this note. The summer swap was such a gift! Dayenu!
Thank you for sharing the summer gifts of poetry, Patricia!
It’s why I signed up in the first place — seeing other people’s swaps. I’ll look forward to it again next year.