A teacher lived by these words;
“There is no dishonor
in not being a poet,
no weakness in refraining from verse
but to be a bad poet
is to face death”
Though I walk through the valley of death’s shadow
May I fear no evil
And if I see death
May he linger at the lintel
For Truth is an act of G-D
and Speech is a holy tool
A thread hangs in the vaults
the world is suspended in nothingness
fire catches and dwindles
waters rush to and fro
shaking the earth
until her mouth has opened
those that stumble, stumble
and if we fall
we soar
A beggar asked a blind man for a coin
who asked for what purpose
and felt no shame
He smiled at me
and in a breath
I smiled back
His eyes were kind
A man screamed himself towards a crowd
we were just in the way
someone stood to search for his voice
and though they found it,
shackles were brought
the man was dragged away
and we had nothing to do with it
or at least that’s what we said
to ourselves
iron burns hotter than coals
on the skin of devils
but the man meant no harm
until he did
down the drain,
down the drain
another spiral
turning with the galaxies
crying “you have no right”
and they did not
Yet still he was moved
another spiral
I loved a woman
for as long as I could
Perhaps for as long as the wind sang
through the trees
Perhaps for as long as the tides returned
for as long as the moon was full
And now all I think of is love
and its embrace
I have never found it wanting
Only myself
Only myself
The world hangs by a thread
suspended in nothingness
folded by pillars
nursed and guarded
held aloft with speech
engraved and sealed
in ways that matter to those
who do not write
for those who live beyond
eternity
Not ‘those that got out,’
but ‘those that listened’
and responded in verse
that respond in time
that keep it
bringing from themselves
a Man
for their sacrifice
Drums beat and voices raise
bodies dance and hearts ignite
a fire before G-D
May the smoke raise high
May the scent be pleasing
To the Lord our G-D
May we be saved from the pit
May our ears be opened
To the Lord our G-D
May we not fall into silence
May we forever sing praise
To the Lord our G-D
Selah – and so it goes
