Confession in Perkin's mauve

Apr 04, 2025

A Gossip’s nature is soulless, so if

Confession is solely good for your soul

and not mine

then I have none. Or

the pain of being silenced

has never left my lips, yet

which pain is as indelible as Perkin’s Mauve?

Is gossip a sin equal to the three: idolatry, adultery, and murder?

O’Ishmael?

Do not go up and down as a talebearer among your people,

nor silence the small voices among you

just to preserve the perfection in your mirror.

Otherwise, Esther had no say among us

and today, we will forget to listen

to her daughters and their sons.

No longer was everyone a prince among them.

We did not listen to the small voices.

Too busy paying heed to talebearers,

sheathed as priests but violating the booth.

Trust is earned and lost in the battle for souls’ votes

only by the silent ones among us who

keep your indelible whispers to themselves.

Shabbat Shalom!