Poetry

epiphany frozen, unchanging and infinite
shifting observers through perspectives revealed
__like a riddle.

Ivory Tower

Your room is a jungle
of worn clothes
and (nearly) empty closet

of abandoned guitar
and missing left shoe

of opened bottom drawer
and belly-flopped novel

of semi-damp towel
and crumpled blanket

at the edge of a sunken bed
your quiet recluse
from the chaotic world

Thanksgiving B

A bulging balloon of belly blubber
built on barrels of brownie batter
between bottles of bubbly beer.

bulging balloon of belly blubber
betrayed by beautiful buffets
for barbarous boys without boundaries

bulging balloon of belly blubber
begging for banana bread bouquets
and barely beginning to Crave.

Best Way Out, said Robert Frost

Rowing a wooden vessel
Through my mind’s misty marsh

Oars dip…and pull
Through liquid memory

Eyes shut, chin up
Pull through, pull through

Things Cooling Down

used skillet              fresh omelet             burnt toast             tickled temper

first degree tan        jalapeno’ed tongue        vacated bed sheets

engine post collision, developing snowflakes

ice-infested tea

Compass in the Bramble

Surrounded by razor-blade bramble, left and right
Up and down, sharp angled thicket tangle

Yet somehow I progress, left then right
Up then down, I run under moon and sun

Trusting the One who is, was, will be left and right,
Up and down, my compass that can’t be wrong

Sukkot Haiku

A practice in trust:
living in a hut outside,
trusting God, not walls.

uncertai?

Vision obscured by drooping eyelids weighed down
Curled up toes that knows seven thousand steps
Slow motion breathing a receding tide
But my mind’s wide–

–awake

Starting with the mitzvah of Chessed.

In masechet Sukkah, we learn that Chessed is greater than Tzedakah. There are a number of reasons:

1. Tzedakah can be done only with money, while Chessed can be done with money and with oneself.
2. Tzedakah can be done only for the poor, while Chessed can be done for the poor and for the rich.
3. Tzedakah can be given to the living, while Chessed can be done for the living and for the dead.