Hannah Orden
Hannah Orden is Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Beth Hatikvah in Summit, NJ. Before becoming a rabbi, Hannah was a high school English and drama teacher. She is the author of a young adult novel published by Viking/Penguin and a full-length play produced by Ironbound Theater in Newark, NJ.
Glory (Poem)
The dress is a spectacular long sweep with thin straps but what catches the eyes is a small triangular opening in front starting between the breasts and extending just below the ribs so skin shows through not enough to be overtly sexual but enough to be a tease come hither and glimpse what might be hidden beneath this dramatic garment something far more glorious than the dress because fabric no matter how gorgeous cannot compete with the exquisite beauty of a human body and after the dress and glimpse of skin I notice the flowing hair longer than most people wear it these days it’s been years since I’ve seen someone with such long loose hair no restraint of ponytail twist or bun but glorious free flowing hair in a color that I can’t quite identify might be blonde or silver gold with a hint of red or brown it’s only then that I notice the hair frames a face that is weathered by years of sun and maybe hard living and see this is not a young woman with smooth firm flesh as my eyes drift to her bare arms wrinkled and sagging a bit as we all do by a certain age and I realize I had been too stunned by the dress to notice that the glimpse of skin in the middle of the dress was not the radiant skin of a young woman so my eyes dart back to her face and I smile and say “that is a fabulous dress and you look fantastic” and I don’t know whether to be jealous that this woman who is surely as old as I am has the confidence to wear such a dress and long flowing hair knowing that she can still look sexy and I am guessing still feel sexy or whether to just celebrate the pure joy of a woman who is in her glory