When the hot water strikes its cleansing claws
Against the sleep spoiled pores of my body
And I am most vulnerable and bare
So that the least stray thought sprays
Into a fountain to be seen forever

And when I try to wash in purity
To begin a new day knowing that a rooster
Knows better about when to rise, and when
I say Hear O Israel silently
Reciting so as not to wake my wife

And forgo the donning of Tefillin,
Is it truly that I lie to myself?
What can be a more complete connection
To the Ultimate than to accept It
Every morning in all Its scalding force?