Old Habits - A Judith Felsen Poem

 Old habits die hard… and sometimes 

take us with them… 

howls of Holocaust victims and survivors

shrieks of Shoan torture

leave their imprints in the legacies we carry

unapologetically maintaining suffering and 

quirks in modern times… 

memories of prayers

supplications desperate, 

attached to superstitious patterns

cling and claw to thought

refusing to let go…

mind uncertain and unsure

as psyche fears its safety not within …

relief, reprieve, release comes only when

old habits seen at distance,

fears then detached from fact

allow a moment of undoing aged pacts,

claws and grip anciently justified,

behaviors compensating terror’s tariff,

all undone, weakened and shown in light…

unnecessary now as grip becomes a memory

and pattern a fading scar…

a moment’s separation starts the course…

habits put to rest with final kaddish…

time returns in eternal love…

body released from chains …

soul flies free of claws…

no habits now…

love’s spontaneity stays

to make light’s habits…

J.F. 12/11/25