At night my soul leaves 

At night my soul leaves 

October 26, 2026 , ,

By KAREN CHASE

my body and 
in the morning, it 
returns. To exist fully, it 

needs more than my body, so 
up it goes into the stars, for 
sustenance. I open  
my eyes and pray—  

You have returned within me, my 
soul with compassion. 

Modah ani lefaneka melechai  
chai vekayam shehehezarta   

I get out of bed, 
join the revolution. 

 

[Purchase Issue 32 here]

Karen Chase lives in Western Massachusetts, where she writes and paints. Her poems have been anthologized in The Norton Introduction to Poetry and Billy Collins’s Poetry 180. Chase is the author of eight books, both poetry and nonfiction. Visit her at KarenChase.com or KarenChaseArt.com.

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At night my soul leaves 

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