Ah yes,
this is to be the site
of a new 13-room school
for Temple Emeth Sholom.
The rabbi stands here,
eyes toward the ground,
his lips softly parted
but not smiling,
one hand on the shovel.
The contractor grips
the other side of that shovel,
places one foot firmly on it
till it parts the soil
while he grins assuringly.
The vice president and chairman
(a woman) smile as well,
while she, as all mothers do,
rests her hand on the shoulder
of a little girl in front of her
(the only child fully in the picture)
and three unidentified children
crowd in anywhere they find room.
Ah yes, I was one of those children.
