Back in 1961, I heard on the radio that Kennedy had sent 500 US Special Forces and military advisors to a place called Vietnam. I was just starting high school at the time. It was the first time I remember hearing about that country. We also had a war g...
Our “mamad” (a protected room in an apartment constructed with reinforced concrete to withstand anything but a direct impact from a conventional projectile) doubles as a TV room and contains bookshelves and a work niche. On the second shelf above the desk...
"The Poetry Lesson" (inspired by Osip Mandelstam’s “The Stalin Epigram”) The cell is pitch black except for two cones of stark light, One over a man wearing a sea-green single-breasted tunic, Breeches, polished jackboots, and a peaked cap, Sitting behin...
Professor Bartholomew Hartfeld sat in a tall leather-backed chair behind a dark mahogany desk. He looked irritably at the clock on the wall opposite his desk. His 2:00 pm was late. He flicked the button on the intercom. “Has my two o’clock called to say h...
"A Dark Matter"(Raanana, October 4, 2018) I see you everywhere I goYou follow me even into the bedroomAnd crawl into bed beside meEntering my dreams.You are the dark sun shining your dark photons,Your shadows are my only light.You are every age you've eve...
"Shebi" Three in the morning It was half-time and she was a cheerleader. All eyes were on her, but especially Those of the team captain. Suddenly she was at the prom Dressed in white like Cinderella When her husband’s voice intruded rudely. “Shebi! Wake u...
"Yuval" Three in the morning A soft blue light emanated under the blanket. His father stared into the darkness at the tell-tale light And whispered, “Aren’t you asleep yet?” “Wait! I’m fighting the Klaxons,” Yuval whispered back. The twelve-year-old jinxe...
"Rezek" Three in the morning Jupiter stares through a crack in the ceiling And Rezek has no time for dreams. He gets out of bed fully dressed And walks barefoot to the porch Where his father pours him a small cup Of scalding bittersweet coffee Which he bl...
The Hoopoe’s Call(Harken!)He heard a call from the branches of a treeSomewhere in the woods along the path he walked,Stick in hand to steady his stepsLike a shepherd’s staff.But where?He looked around to seeWho or what had made that call,Almost child-like...
"How will I know when I'm an adult Saba?" the boy asked his grandfather. The grandfather looked into his inviting blue eyes, pools of clear water, careful not to fall into them."Do you want the answer all adults give to their children or do you want my an...
The Lips of Infinity(Raanana, May 16, 2019) And he welcomed them,The children, the old ones, the infirm,The youth, the busy young men and women,The forsaken and excommunicated,The doubters and disbelievers,Agnostics and atheists,The doctors, the scientist...
With Great Finesse (Raanana, May 11, 2019) Walking down a dappled path On my way to the harbor for a cup of tea And the smell of salt already in the air, I saw myself coming toward me. How's it going, I asked myself. You should know, myself responded. W...
Twilight of the Gods (Raanana, May 2, 2019) Liberated from the shackles of human decency And the bonds of fundamental morality, Girded by Thor's hammer and Aryan superiority They rounded us up in the small hours of night When our innocense slept dreaming...
Distance and Time (Raanana, Israel, July 19, 2017) In the time of the dying light When the distant sun dallies Over the western hills, Its radiant fingers fondling the upper slopes Like expectant breasts to its warm touch, The shadows are long Like our co...
