Holding my father’s hand
on a crisp fall day
sun is warm on my forehead
we are Jewish
and it’s Rosh Hashanah morning
but I can’t sit still
in the pew upstairs with mom
so he takes me for a walk
on Rutledge avenue
everything smells so good
in September
and even though the sun
makes my eyes squint I like it
because it is so warm
and the colors blazing
we cross the street and pass the
artesian water well
then to the old museum
where there are amazing wonders
and creepy things
a baleen whale and a shrunken head
and civil war ghosts