This poem was 'given' to me on Shabbat Shuvah, Oct 7, 2000; in the Hebrew calendar, Tishray 8, 5760. ('Given,' which is to say, I was both the recipient and the one who, by taking action, recovered what was else still waiting to be heard/experienced.) It is a poem appropriate to the Days of Awe, the 10 days that include the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement. Indeed, today, October 4, 2008, is also Shabbat Shuva. At the end of the poem, you can find a glossary of the Hebrew, and otherwise obscure, terms.
Riten and Seelenz in the Bouk
Owwer Parent, owwer Ruler
Yu hav rememberd Yur chieldz.
El Shaddiy, Uddoniy,
Yu ar bownd and we ar bienden.
On Roesh HaShunna it iz ritten.
On Yoem Keepor it iz seeld.
Avvenu, Malkanu,
Yu ar the Juj.
Owwer Parent, owwer Powwer,
Yu ar the hope.
On November 9, 1938
Yur day ov jujjen began.
On 5 Eyar, 5708
Yur 10 day ov wayingz ended
And we wer seeld for a yeer tu make life.
On November 9, 1938
We began tu kry owt
Asking a forgiv.
Forgiv Avvenu, forgive Malkanu
For we hav bowd down tu owwer thots, owwer idelz.
hen Babballon roze and began tu punnish.
Mersee El Shaddiy, mersee HaMakkoem,
For we dessenden tu baesless haetred,
Az enliten Jewz abbuezd the piyus
Hu held owwer senter ov tradditten;
And observen Jews kurst at thoze
Hu sot tu restor ower Proffettek Speer.
Then Rome reerd up and a sekkend punnish men.
Kompashen Father, kompashen muther,
For we hav ternd awway frum Yur Proffets and Vizhenz,
Frum Hertzel hu fortoeld ov owwer redeemen,
Hume the piyus kondammd,
And enliten men abbuezd,
But thay hu lissend, thay bekum holee.
Yu jujjd Avvenu, Yu jujjd Malkanu,
And all owwer praer,
And all owwer lerningz,
And all owwer deedz
Ternd bak a werld destrukten!
Oenlee on Yur skaelz, oh God, owwer God!
Oenlee on Yur skaelz
Du praerz and lerning and kiendness hav wate.
On 5 Eyar, 5708 Yu seeld the Bouk
That Yur Proffets and Yur Preesthoud woud liv.
Avvenu, Malkanu,
Hu nercherz and sustaenz,
On November 9, 1938
Yu began tu juj the nashenz ov the werld.
Thay hu kryd owt:
We ar the streng!
We ar the godz!
We ar the jujjez ov the werl!
El Shaddiy, Elloheem
On 5 Eyar, 5708
Wut nashenz did yu seel with deth?
***********************
Glossary:
1. El Shaddiy: a name of God, implying the nurturing aspect.
2. Uddoniy: another name of God, implying mercy and universality. "Uddoniy" (usually spelled "Adonai") means "The Master" and as a spoken/read word, has no relationship to the 4 Hebrew letters on the page - Yud Hay Vav Hay. This separation of the written and spoken Name acknowledges that God's true Name is too holy to literally pronounce.
3. Yoem Keepor: accent on last syllable (KeePOR).
4. Avvenu: Hebrew for "our father."
5. Malkanu: Hebrew for "our king."
6. Avvenu Malkanu: this phrase is repeated in supplication numerous times on Yom Kippur.
7. November 9, 1938: the night of Kristallnacht, a state-orchestrated pogrom in Germany, often thought of as the beginning of the Shoah, the Holocaust.
8. 5 Eyar, 5708: the date in the Jewish calendar when Israel declared itself as a nation; May 14, 1948.
Showing posts with label In the Ruwenz of the Tempel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label In the Ruwenz of the Tempel. Show all posts
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
A poem written 2 weeks before 9/11
Ammung the Hillz ov Yisroyel
Thare wuz a Vinyerd.
Its frute wuz sweet.
The vintner gladlee trampeld the grape,
The seed and jusez oozd between toez.
This wuz a vine a mennee blessing.
Thare still iz a Vinyerd.
Small and sellekt it iz.
The breth uppon the slope,
The taest ov the erth and its mennee plowwing
Made chois the frute and the seed.
Thare iz a Vinyerd.
For Hem hu tend it,
Wun and the awl, a hole werld it iz.
And the kulchering ov its frute
Intu its perfektenz
Iz the wun and the all ov Hem.
Not so, how evver
For the suttel serpents,
For the klevver dog-hedz,
For the serlee kat-men,
For the hungree rats and thaer kohorts.
For them, thare iz a vinyerd
Ripe tu pluk, rich tu plunder.
A vinyerd tu konker,
And howl and skweel, "See!
"I am the superseeden!"
Thare iz a vinyerd.
A seed planten thare in haetred
Will gro and sustaen itself.
Its frute iz haetred
And awl its seed ar strivenz
For the longer vine and bitter fruets.
Thare iz a vinyerd.
A seed planter ov aenger
Will produse a frute ov aenger,
Will produse a root an aenger,
Jenneraten ov aenger, ferro after ferro.
Thare iz a Vinyerd.
Tu the annammel-hedded wunz
The frute ov this,
And the frute ov that louk the same.
Wen thay drunken, it taesten the same.
But Hem Hu overseez
Iz choozen Hem frute with kare,
Not the bitter and not the rotten.
This wun iz kalld, the express ov blessing,
And that wun tu wither, the expressen a kers.
Thare wuz a Vinyerd.
Its frute wuz sweet.
The vintner gladlee trampeld the grape,
The seed and jusez oozd between toez.
This wuz a vine a mennee blessing.
Thare still iz a Vinyerd.
Small and sellekt it iz.
The breth uppon the slope,
The taest ov the erth and its mennee plowwing
Made chois the frute and the seed.
Thare iz a Vinyerd.
For Hem hu tend it,
Wun and the awl, a hole werld it iz.
And the kulchering ov its frute
Intu its perfektenz
Iz the wun and the all ov Hem.
Not so, how evver
For the suttel serpents,
For the klevver dog-hedz,
For the serlee kat-men,
For the hungree rats and thaer kohorts.
For them, thare iz a vinyerd
Ripe tu pluk, rich tu plunder.
A vinyerd tu konker,
And howl and skweel, "See!
"I am the superseeden!"
Thare iz a vinyerd.
A seed planten thare in haetred
Will gro and sustaen itself.
Its frute iz haetred
And awl its seed ar strivenz
For the longer vine and bitter fruets.
Thare iz a vinyerd.
A seed planter ov aenger
Will produse a frute ov aenger,
Will produse a root an aenger,
Jenneraten ov aenger, ferro after ferro.
Thare iz a Vinyerd.
Tu the annammel-hedded wunz
The frute ov this,
And the frute ov that louk the same.
Wen thay drunken, it taesten the same.
But Hem Hu overseez
Iz choozen Hem frute with kare,
Not the bitter and not the rotten.
This wun iz kalld, the express ov blessing,
And that wun tu wither, the expressen a kers.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Spiritual Ascenders and those who drown in earth
Sitting in shul some years ago, I saw Lynn Greenhough praying, and then I saw this:
Drawing a Kerten
I saw a wouman rapt in her praer shawl
Leening aggens a wall, werd mermerz.
The shaddo frum her eyz astreek her fase,
A streemen ov teerz, a vort ov praerz.
Between her and the Divvine Prezzens
Oenlee a silk shawl separaten.
Her silken tullet*, aglint ov the lite *praer shawl
Arrownd a Soel unkloken tu the Lor.
I saw a man hu haz lern wun thing:
If he kloke hiz Soel, he kan hide frum the Prezzen.
He kan hide in the Prezzen, and justis will be bliend.
Kloekt in the vaelz ov Ertha he travvael,
Exxempt frum reproof, vale uppon vaelz.
He kareed hiz Soel down tu Addom,
Kloking ov lite in the dens shaddoez.
Mor he hiedz, afrayen hiz Soel
Till it thredbare and seesez tu exxist.
We ar born naked,
But we kan hide ower Soelz tu deth.
But thoze hu begin tu leev the vaelenz,
Assending the ladderz with Yakoevz aenjelz,
Thay hav bin kalld, Preestlee Wunz.
Deziyer tu be tranzparen in the Prezzens,
Thaer Soel a lenz tu a lite.
I saw her, rapt in her tullet, weeping,
Divvine Pressens astreek with shaedz.
Drawing a Kerten
I saw a wouman rapt in her praer shawl
Leening aggens a wall, werd mermerz.
The shaddo frum her eyz astreek her fase,
A streemen ov teerz, a vort ov praerz.
Between her and the Divvine Prezzens
Oenlee a silk shawl separaten.
Her silken tullet*, aglint ov the lite *praer shawl
Arrownd a Soel unkloken tu the Lor.
I saw a man hu haz lern wun thing:
If he kloke hiz Soel, he kan hide frum the Prezzen.
He kan hide in the Prezzen, and justis will be bliend.
Kloekt in the vaelz ov Ertha he travvael,
Exxempt frum reproof, vale uppon vaelz.
He kareed hiz Soel down tu Addom,
Kloking ov lite in the dens shaddoez.
Mor he hiedz, afrayen hiz Soel
Till it thredbare and seesez tu exxist.
We ar born naked,
But we kan hide ower Soelz tu deth.
But thoze hu begin tu leev the vaelenz,
Assending the ladderz with Yakoevz aenjelz,
Thay hav bin kalld, Preestlee Wunz.
Deziyer tu be tranzparen in the Prezzens,
Thaer Soel a lenz tu a lite.
I saw her, rapt in her tullet, weeping,
Divvine Pressens astreek with shaedz.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
For my sister; from my sister
Deer wunz
Du not say, "We hav loss the way."
But neether say, "It iz shorlee knowen."
My Rizel Frum a Narro Plase
For my sister, Rizel Laya
It happend wuns, Rabbiy Yosee wuz wokking
Ammung the ruwenz ov the Tempel, the nashenz.
The saekred stoenz wer a sarro dissarray,
The pure morter intu krumbelz and lime.
Pressing between the falen piller
A witen dust on hiz tungz and breechez,
Thare kumz he intu a dirj, a breth
Ov wind, a Dotter ov a Vois*, a rushing.
* In Hebrew: “But Koel,”
where Koel is “voice”
and But is “daughter/feminine.”
The phrase is usually translated
“Divine Voice.”
And she sed:
“I hu am dowting; unwerthee, unwerthee!
“No mor may I enter in dwelling the Lor.
“I must liv my sarro, an unspeken exxile;
“No mor may I heer the salmz on my hart.
“Silens, silens, wut a punnish yu ar!
“Tu understand no mor the ling ov my Soel*!”
* Utherz say: yewth
Then Reb Yosee sat down on the shardz and ponderd,
Tu heer this vois a rizel in hiz Soel,
Him huze hole life a devvoten tu the ling
In hiz Soel, hu kan heer her praerz so klare.
Then this faent breez, this wind breth, Reb Yosee:
“O Sister ov a Vois, so dowtful, dowtful,
“Huze iyz ar blerring in this Tempel a Ruwenz,
“Huze vois iz chok ov the dust all a werl,
“Lissen, o lissen. Wut ar theze werdz
“If not a brij? Take wun mor step
“Bak tu yur Soel, tu yur waeten joy.
“Weeping, weeping. Return frum yur exxile.
“Ammung the Ruwenz, Sister Vois, arize!”
Du not say, "We hav loss the way."
But neether say, "It iz shorlee knowen."
My Rizel Frum a Narro Plase
For my sister, Rizel Laya
It happend wuns, Rabbiy Yosee wuz wokking
Ammung the ruwenz ov the Tempel, the nashenz.
The saekred stoenz wer a sarro dissarray,
The pure morter intu krumbelz and lime.
Pressing between the falen piller
A witen dust on hiz tungz and breechez,
Thare kumz he intu a dirj, a breth
Ov wind, a Dotter ov a Vois*, a rushing.
* In Hebrew: “But Koel,”
where Koel is “voice”
and But is “daughter/feminine.”
The phrase is usually translated
“Divine Voice.”
And she sed:
“I hu am dowting; unwerthee, unwerthee!
“No mor may I enter in dwelling the Lor.
“I must liv my sarro, an unspeken exxile;
“No mor may I heer the salmz on my hart.
“Silens, silens, wut a punnish yu ar!
“Tu understand no mor the ling ov my Soel*!”
* Utherz say: yewth
Then Reb Yosee sat down on the shardz and ponderd,
Tu heer this vois a rizel in hiz Soel,
Him huze hole life a devvoten tu the ling
In hiz Soel, hu kan heer her praerz so klare.
Then this faent breez, this wind breth, Reb Yosee:
“O Sister ov a Vois, so dowtful, dowtful,
“Huze iyz ar blerring in this Tempel a Ruwenz,
“Huze vois iz chok ov the dust all a werl,
“Lissen, o lissen. Wut ar theze werdz
“If not a brij? Take wun mor step
“Bak tu yur Soel, tu yur waeten joy.
“Weeping, weeping. Return frum yur exxile.
“Ammung the Ruwenz, Sister Vois, arize!”
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Slow to drink, but deeply
I confess, this one always makes me smile. With thanx to Louis, Reb Arya Zev, who helps me unravel myselves.
Sweet Wotterz
"The unholy surrounds the holy"
-- Rebbe Nachman
Thare iz a pool ov wotter
And evree day I see it,
Sitting still and kalm
Reflekting the shaddoez and liets.
I see it and it kallz tu me:
"Kum dreenk. Defer
"Frum yur goingz a duingz.
"This Momen ammung mennee momen,
"Take a sip and reflek."
A kleer pool in a kleering.
Wy du I feel such dout?
Wy du I hezzatate tu go
Tu take the steps, tu neel,
Tu kup my hand and dip it in?
Thare iz a well, deep and silent.
If yu wisper down, nuthing reternz;
If yu speek, garbeld sowndz will ekko;
If yu drop a rok, yu heer but a splash.
A deep well, not far awway.
Wy duz it draw me
Tu lowwer a bukket, tu werk the pullee?
Wy du I not draw frum it?
Iz thare not a tumarro an marro?
Hav I not drunk mennee time?
Iz it not kleen and kleer and refressing?
Iz thare a feer or a lak ov therst?
Thare iz a gergelling brouk, not far...
A path I kno well; I see it now,
That leedz ammung the russelling boushez.
I louk at my woch and I tern...
Evree path arrownd me overgrowen,
Wen Reb Arya Zev, sent by Reb Yosee
Kumz frum behiend and wochez me awile.
Then he asks, "Du yu theenk the wotter iz safe?"
"This iz not just wotter
"And yu ar no littel sipper.
"This iz a likker that taerz yur Seel,
"And that iz a mikveh intu Deth-Staets.
"Wen did yu last dans naked down the street,
"Or ly konvulsen yur oen vommet?
"Ar yu reddee tu sakrafise yur luv wun, Izak
"Or tu maek yur bed in a lyon den?"
Then Reb Arya smielz hiz smielz, and askt,
"How ar theengz?" and befor I waested
Hiz time, he left; and I, I just marvelld.
Thare iz a pool, dellereyen sweet...
Sweet Wotterz
"The unholy surrounds the holy"
-- Rebbe Nachman
Thare iz a pool ov wotter
And evree day I see it,
Sitting still and kalm
Reflekting the shaddoez and liets.
I see it and it kallz tu me:
"Kum dreenk. Defer
"Frum yur goingz a duingz.
"This Momen ammung mennee momen,
"Take a sip and reflek."
A kleer pool in a kleering.
Wy du I feel such dout?
Wy du I hezzatate tu go
Tu take the steps, tu neel,
Tu kup my hand and dip it in?
Thare iz a well, deep and silent.
If yu wisper down, nuthing reternz;
If yu speek, garbeld sowndz will ekko;
If yu drop a rok, yu heer but a splash.
A deep well, not far awway.
Wy duz it draw me
Tu lowwer a bukket, tu werk the pullee?
Wy du I not draw frum it?
Iz thare not a tumarro an marro?
Hav I not drunk mennee time?
Iz it not kleen and kleer and refressing?
Iz thare a feer or a lak ov therst?
Thare iz a gergelling brouk, not far...
A path I kno well; I see it now,
That leedz ammung the russelling boushez.
I louk at my woch and I tern...
Evree path arrownd me overgrowen,
Wen Reb Arya Zev, sent by Reb Yosee
Kumz frum behiend and wochez me awile.
Then he asks, "Du yu theenk the wotter iz safe?"
"This iz not just wotter
"And yu ar no littel sipper.
"This iz a likker that taerz yur Seel,
"And that iz a mikveh intu Deth-Staets.
"Wen did yu last dans naked down the street,
"Or ly konvulsen yur oen vommet?
"Ar yu reddee tu sakrafise yur luv wun, Izak
"Or tu maek yur bed in a lyon den?"
Then Reb Arya smielz hiz smielz, and askt,
"How ar theengz?" and befor I waested
Hiz time, he left; and I, I just marvelld.
Thare iz a pool, dellereyen sweet...
Friday, May 25, 2007
Our 'reason' is a bucketful of one-dimensional correspondences
This, from my collection, Ammung the Ruwenz ov the Tempel, I Herd...
Offeringz Thru the Nite
And the Lor enterd intu Proffets,
Frum Moesheh tu Ezra,
Tu emmerj a Torra thru them.
And Uddoniy askt them,
"Yu hu kry ekstattek weepingz
"In Owwer speretchuwel kohabbettate:
"How will the chieldz rememmer This Moment,
"And how will the knowen My Prezens be sustaend?
"In the day wen My rezen iz unfathem.
"The paganz will hak at the branchen ov my Tree.
"Thay will wieldlee tare at its illumennaten leevz,
"And bern owt the nests in its swaying arberz,
"And the dellakkut frute thay will kast in the street
"Tu krush with the heel ov thaer pawlish boots.
"And the faent iyz pepel will refuze tu see.
"Thay will fill thaer iyz with delluezhen and mith,
"And no mor deziyer the taest ov trueth.
"And thus My riten
"Until yu understand:
"The offer on its piyer on the Alter all nite
"Until the morning the fiyer on the Alter keep berning.*
* Viyeekra/Leviticus 6
"If yu keep the fiyer berning all nite
"Then My absens will kum tu an end.
"If not, tu hume and tu wut will I retern?
"Hu iz slaying the bullz?
"Hu iz laying a hart-wept peese on the flamen?"
Offeringz Thru the Nite
And the Lor enterd intu Proffets,
Frum Moesheh tu Ezra,
Tu emmerj a Torra thru them.
And Uddoniy askt them,
"Yu hu kry ekstattek weepingz
"In Owwer speretchuwel kohabbettate:
"How will the chieldz rememmer This Moment,
"And how will the knowen My Prezens be sustaend?
"In the day wen My rezen iz unfathem.
"The paganz will hak at the branchen ov my Tree.
"Thay will wieldlee tare at its illumennaten leevz,
"And bern owt the nests in its swaying arberz,
"And the dellakkut frute thay will kast in the street
"Tu krush with the heel ov thaer pawlish boots.
"And the faent iyz pepel will refuze tu see.
"Thay will fill thaer iyz with delluezhen and mith,
"And no mor deziyer the taest ov trueth.
"And thus My riten
"Until yu understand:
"The offer on its piyer on the Alter all nite
"Until the morning the fiyer on the Alter keep berning.*
* Viyeekra/Leviticus 6
"If yu keep the fiyer berning all nite
"Then My absens will kum tu an end.
"If not, tu hume and tu wut will I retern?
"Hu iz slaying the bullz?
"Hu iz laying a hart-wept peese on the flamen?"
Sunday, November 26, 2006
From: Ammung the Ruwenz ov the Tempel, I Herd...
I have always felt that everything that can be known, is revealed in the waves of the ocean...
Open Wun Skroel, Enter the Ferst Wave
Shabbat Pesukh khoel Ha-mowaed 5760
Shakhreet Shemmona Esray
And then I kame tu the Grate See.
And the darkness in the forres
Reseeded intu oek shrub
And yello flowwer brume.
Then sharp ej beech grass rubbd my shinz,
And the roer ov brakerz washt akross my fase.
My foutprints krosst the beech in her singing,
Her armz spred wide with fraktel pattern tallit*.
*shawl; sandz
She dessendz and the wotterz rize up tu her,
Erasing the kruwelteez that hav echt thaer furroez
Intu her fase. Re-riets her histerree evree momen.
Unkovverz her seel in salm an immerzhen.
I lay with her, lips tu her lips,
Brest tu my brest; the shape ov my boddee
Imprest in her Soel, an expans ov sand.
The see sang its versez tu me by thowzendz,
Wave after wave, vers after vers,
Storee after storee, letter after letter,
Era after era, the brakerz the song,
Reveeled tu eech Soel and tu all the werldz,
And hu evver iz reddee tu approech tu lissen.
I gaezd on the skroelz unroeling befor me
Trying tu interpret thaer infinnit voise.
Eech skroel az it opend reveeld ferther skroelz,
Eech werd expanding tu hewman lievz,
Eech skroel re-roeling and klozing at my feet,
Swerling a foming arrownd my aenkelz.
I reecht down tu gather and lift up a handful.
Between my feengerz a dimend kaskade.
I splash my fase, senshuwus and koeld.
The songz kaskaden; thay rize and re-spirel,
And I, huze steps will be eraest frum the beech,
Konkluden my praerz, I steppt back and bow.
Open Wun Skroel, Enter the Ferst Wave
Shabbat Pesukh khoel Ha-mowaed 5760
Shakhreet Shemmona Esray
And then I kame tu the Grate See.
And the darkness in the forres
Reseeded intu oek shrub
And yello flowwer brume.
Then sharp ej beech grass rubbd my shinz,
And the roer ov brakerz washt akross my fase.
My foutprints krosst the beech in her singing,
Her armz spred wide with fraktel pattern tallit*.
*shawl; sandz
She dessendz and the wotterz rize up tu her,
Erasing the kruwelteez that hav echt thaer furroez
Intu her fase. Re-riets her histerree evree momen.
Unkovverz her seel in salm an immerzhen.
I lay with her, lips tu her lips,
Brest tu my brest; the shape ov my boddee
Imprest in her Soel, an expans ov sand.
The see sang its versez tu me by thowzendz,
Wave after wave, vers after vers,
Storee after storee, letter after letter,
Era after era, the brakerz the song,
Reveeled tu eech Soel and tu all the werldz,
And hu evver iz reddee tu approech tu lissen.
I gaezd on the skroelz unroeling befor me
Trying tu interpret thaer infinnit voise.
Eech skroel az it opend reveeld ferther skroelz,
Eech werd expanding tu hewman lievz,
Eech skroel re-roeling and klozing at my feet,
Swerling a foming arrownd my aenkelz.
I reecht down tu gather and lift up a handful.
Between my feengerz a dimend kaskade.
I splash my fase, senshuwus and koeld.
The songz kaskaden; thay rize and re-spirel,
And I, huze steps will be eraest frum the beech,
Konkluden my praerz, I steppt back and bow.
Monday, September 25, 2006
O Priesthood, O Prophets, will you not find your Voice?
Listening to the last instrumental strains of Hendrix at Woodstock, and I think of music in the higher worlds... with echos of flamenco, Spanish Castle Magic, and the trope for Lamentations...
Kinder, Prepare Yurselz
We hav lernd:
Thare wuz wuns a map that charted the suwwerz
Beneeth the ruwinz ov the Vorsaw getto.
And thare wuz wuns a map that shoed the tunnelz
Owt ov Yerushalliyim tu the Yavna Yesheva.
And thare wuz wuns a text that charted the lojjek
Frum the Vois on Sini tu the orel Torra.
But all that remaenz ar the nervwayz tu the braen
And haf remember dreemz in the twilite ov owwer day.
For yu fiend yurself in this loenlee way
And see my foutprints; how far will thay go?
Yu tuu will be marvel how faent ar the traelz
In the wilderness serrownding the ruwenz ov Ewrope.
So I inkwiyerd all the Sajen wut I kno,
"Tell me, wut ar the sienz and wen will be vizhen?
"Wut will be the See and ware will we immers?"
I loukt tu the see hu woud speek,
But all ternd awway , hoelding thaer silensez.
O Preesthoud, O Proffets, will yu not fiend yur Vois?
We ar lern
Eech persen seez akkording tu the powwer tu abzorb.
Rabbi Sara bat Rute askt,
"Wut ar the Bouks ov the Lor
"Thar fallen thru owwer Sol, now loss?"
And Rabbi Dillen ben Zimmerman askt,
"Wut ar the Bouks ov the Lor
"Wuns rote but now blowing in a wind?"
And Rabbi Shlomo Karleebakh askt,
"Wut ar the Werdz ov the Lor
"Reveeld but nevver rekord?"
And Zalmen ben Sha-uel,
"Hu ar the Proffets that ar speken
"In owwer dayz huze trueth is not yet emerj?"
But Rabbi Yosee sed,
"Nuthing iz be loss,
"But oenlee owwer powwer tu open owwer Iy.
"Nuthing haz bin forgot, and nuthing remaenz unherd,
"Oenlee waeting owwer klarefyd deziyer tu knowen."
Here I am, resseld aggenst this dreemen
Tu glimps a Moment, awake....
Kinder, Prepare Yurselz
We hav lernd:
Thare wuz wuns a map that charted the suwwerz
Beneeth the ruwinz ov the Vorsaw getto.
And thare wuz wuns a map that shoed the tunnelz
Owt ov Yerushalliyim tu the Yavna Yesheva.
And thare wuz wuns a text that charted the lojjek
Frum the Vois on Sini tu the orel Torra.
But all that remaenz ar the nervwayz tu the braen
And haf remember dreemz in the twilite ov owwer day.
For yu fiend yurself in this loenlee way
And see my foutprints; how far will thay go?
Yu tuu will be marvel how faent ar the traelz
In the wilderness serrownding the ruwenz ov Ewrope.
So I inkwiyerd all the Sajen wut I kno,
"Tell me, wut ar the sienz and wen will be vizhen?
"Wut will be the See and ware will we immers?"
I loukt tu the see hu woud speek,
But all ternd awway , hoelding thaer silensez.
O Preesthoud, O Proffets, will yu not fiend yur Vois?
We ar lern
Eech persen seez akkording tu the powwer tu abzorb.
Rabbi Sara bat Rute askt,
"Wut ar the Bouks ov the Lor
"Thar fallen thru owwer Sol, now loss?"
And Rabbi Dillen ben Zimmerman askt,
"Wut ar the Bouks ov the Lor
"Wuns rote but now blowing in a wind?"
And Rabbi Shlomo Karleebakh askt,
"Wut ar the Werdz ov the Lor
"Reveeld but nevver rekord?"
And Zalmen ben Sha-uel,
"Hu ar the Proffets that ar speken
"In owwer dayz huze trueth is not yet emerj?"
But Rabbi Yosee sed,
"Nuthing iz be loss,
"But oenlee owwer powwer tu open owwer Iy.
"Nuthing haz bin forgot, and nuthing remaenz unherd,
"Oenlee waeting owwer klarefyd deziyer tu knowen."
Here I am, resseld aggenst this dreemen
Tu glimps a Moment, awake....
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Repitition of Isaiah, to the Palestinians
Mishneh Yesheyawhu
Shabbut Devarim,
I hav hezzettaten, o Lor, my Lor,
Long my refraen that woud speek with Yur Namen.
Tuu theengz ar see az I stand in Yur Tempel:
The Preesthoud a marchen tu its Kubballut Shabbut**
** The reception of the Sabbath;
The greeting of the Divine Presence.
And a suwasside pepel a rebellen at Yur Glorree.**
The Preesthoud will usher in the day a Shabbut,
Karrying the Teechingz in its arks ov lite;
Baring its arks thru the terratorreez
Ware the wield ass wunse brayd and kikkt,
Hem hu ar run frum hem hart-serchen Master,
Will be fownd a benden, bowwend tu a yoke.
Pallestinnee! How long will yu sin befor yur God?
The God Yisroyel haz reveelen tu yu?
Appall! A nashen that wunse knu Merseefill,
Now vommitting haetred, now a slither in awful,
Fallen bakwerd tu a pagan faeth.
Yisroyel, louk! And be not prowd.
Yu passt this way yursellz befor.
Wy ar yu beeten yet kontinnew tu rebell?
Yesheyawhu 1:5
Yur land groez mor dessolate day by day.
Yur vinyerdz ar wither, yur sitteez dekayd.
Az a gardenner powndz a krakt pot intu rubbel,
Yu batter teenajerz intu suwasside merder
And baree yur yung wunz in liez and despaer.
Du yu kare nuthing that yu exteengwish yur fewcher?
Du yu not smell it, duz it not choke yu,
That yur suwassiedz ar a drawn owt gasp ov falure?
Yu herree, yu rase tu rezembel Siddoem.**
** Hebrew for "Sodom"
Yisroyel Preesthoud, louk uppon theze theengz.
See the ruwen, the evolvenz ov hate.
Wut ar yur sakrafishel merterz tu Me?
I am sik with yur offeringz ov kidz blud and kersez.
Vile ar yur offeringz and berning tiyerz
Az yu fowl my Kort, Yerushalliyemz streets.
Yisroyel Preesthoud, see the ruwen,
The rezult ov fals faeth and arrogans.
Fillisteya! Fallashteya! I weeree ov yu!
Klenz yursellz; remuve the evel ov yur deedz.
Yesheyawhu 1:16
Kum, let us debate the kase ov justis,
But if yu make a vilens I will be a devowwer!
Yisroyel be not smug or hard-harten.
Insted ov Me, will yu tern tu Ejipt
Hu starvd yu and kikt yu and krusht yu in Gozza,
And kloezd its borderz entiyer tu yu?
Or tu Sereya and Libnon hu hav lokt yu in kamps**
** sum say "charnelz"
Hu strip yu and wip yu and blame the Jewz?
Or tu Eron and Arrabeya hu stoke yu tu wor
Wile safe and sinnikkel and saddistek thay gorj?
Yisroyel, yu passt this way yursellz.
Fast on Tisha Ba'Av, fast and remember.
But the oenlee wunz hu woud bild yu up,
Yu kers and vow tu drive intu the see.
Pallestinneyan! Louk how yu rase tu be exteenkt.
Shorlee this iz the Hand ov God!
Yisroyel Preesthoud, louk uppon theze theengz.
See the ruwen, the evolvenz ov hate,
The rezult ov fals faeth and arrogans.
Yisroyel, louk! And be not prowd.
Yu passt this way yursellz befor.Fast on Tisha Ba'Av, fast and remember.
Yisroyel be not smug or hard-harten.
The prufe ov the Preesthoud ar deedz ov pese,
Tollerraten the mennee Hullekhaz** tord the Wun.
** Laws; paths
Yisroyel will be a redeemer in justis;
Yerushalliyem in merseez owwer Eternez Plase.
Shabbut Devarim,
I hav hezzettaten, o Lor, my Lor,
Long my refraen that woud speek with Yur Namen.
Tuu theengz ar see az I stand in Yur Tempel:
The Preesthoud a marchen tu its Kubballut Shabbut**
** The reception of the Sabbath;
The greeting of the Divine Presence.
And a suwasside pepel a rebellen at Yur Glorree.**
The Preesthoud will usher in the day a Shabbut,
Karrying the Teechingz in its arks ov lite;
Baring its arks thru the terratorreez
Ware the wield ass wunse brayd and kikkt,
Hem hu ar run frum hem hart-serchen Master,
Will be fownd a benden, bowwend tu a yoke.
Pallestinnee! How long will yu sin befor yur God?
The God Yisroyel haz reveelen tu yu?
Appall! A nashen that wunse knu Merseefill,
Now vommitting haetred, now a slither in awful,
Fallen bakwerd tu a pagan faeth.
Yisroyel, louk! And be not prowd.
Yu passt this way yursellz befor.
Wy ar yu beeten yet kontinnew tu rebell?
Yesheyawhu 1:5
Yur land groez mor dessolate day by day.
Yur vinyerdz ar wither, yur sitteez dekayd.
Az a gardenner powndz a krakt pot intu rubbel,
Yu batter teenajerz intu suwasside merder
And baree yur yung wunz in liez and despaer.
Du yu kare nuthing that yu exteengwish yur fewcher?
Du yu not smell it, duz it not choke yu,
That yur suwassiedz ar a drawn owt gasp ov falure?
Yu herree, yu rase tu rezembel Siddoem.**
** Hebrew for "Sodom"
Yisroyel Preesthoud, louk uppon theze theengz.
See the ruwen, the evolvenz ov hate.
Wut ar yur sakrafishel merterz tu Me?
I am sik with yur offeringz ov kidz blud and kersez.
Vile ar yur offeringz and berning tiyerz
Az yu fowl my Kort, Yerushalliyemz streets.
Yisroyel Preesthoud, see the ruwen,
The rezult ov fals faeth and arrogans.
Fillisteya! Fallashteya! I weeree ov yu!
Klenz yursellz; remuve the evel ov yur deedz.
Yesheyawhu 1:16
Kum, let us debate the kase ov justis,
But if yu make a vilens I will be a devowwer!
Yisroyel be not smug or hard-harten.
Insted ov Me, will yu tern tu Ejipt
Hu starvd yu and kikt yu and krusht yu in Gozza,
And kloezd its borderz entiyer tu yu?
Or tu Sereya and Libnon hu hav lokt yu in kamps**
** sum say "charnelz"
Hu strip yu and wip yu and blame the Jewz?
Or tu Eron and Arrabeya hu stoke yu tu wor
Wile safe and sinnikkel and saddistek thay gorj?
Yisroyel, yu passt this way yursellz.
Fast on Tisha Ba'Av, fast and remember.
But the oenlee wunz hu woud bild yu up,
Yu kers and vow tu drive intu the see.
Pallestinneyan! Louk how yu rase tu be exteenkt.
Shorlee this iz the Hand ov God!
Yisroyel Preesthoud, louk uppon theze theengz.
See the ruwen, the evolvenz ov hate,
The rezult ov fals faeth and arrogans.
Yisroyel, louk! And be not prowd.
Yu passt this way yursellz befor.Fast on Tisha Ba'Av, fast and remember.
Yisroyel be not smug or hard-harten.
The prufe ov the Preesthoud ar deedz ov pese,
Tollerraten the mennee Hullekhaz** tord the Wun.
** Laws; paths
Yisroyel will be a redeemer in justis;
Yerushalliyem in merseez owwer Eternez Plase.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Passing the Fox's Den
This is the opening poem to the 3-book series, Ammung the Ruwenz ov the Tempel, I Herd.....
Passing the Foxxez Den, Yerrushalliyem
Tu Yu I kall, hors and hopeless.
Yu I kall.
How mennee tiemz
Hav I stoud here befor, week and afraed?
Yu, Yu hu hav bin kwik tu anser,
Hu hav sed nuthing, and yet
The fors ov Yur Prezzens
Haz blone me akross oeshenz,
Haz exxield me frum my beluvved sittee,
Haz sent me seeking with my famlee
And all my broken thingz and saekred bouks.
Yu I kall aggen.
Now pray, I hav vencherd tu rekwest aggen,
Hu am but erth and ashez.
Dare I speek, the feer ov choking?
Dare I ask for mor than I hav?
How kan I kno
That I am werthee tu stand in this plase,
Yur Plase, tu heer Yur werdz,
And pass them on?
Passing the Foxxez Den, Yerrushalliyem
Tu Yu I kall, hors and hopeless.
Yu I kall.
How mennee tiemz
Hav I stoud here befor, week and afraed?
Yu, Yu hu hav bin kwik tu anser,
Hu hav sed nuthing, and yet
The fors ov Yur Prezzens
Haz blone me akross oeshenz,
Haz exxield me frum my beluvved sittee,
Haz sent me seeking with my famlee
And all my broken thingz and saekred bouks.
Yu I kall aggen.
Now pray, I hav vencherd tu rekwest aggen,
Hu am but erth and ashez.
Dare I speek, the feer ov choking?
Dare I ask for mor than I hav?
How kan I kno
That I am werthee tu stand in this plase,
Yur Plase, tu heer Yur werdz,
And pass them on?
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Concerning the Third Temple
I dreemd I was holding a sheet on which were written suicide notes from Auschwitz. It was on my heart, so heavy. This is all that happened in the dreem, for a long time, altho perhaps there were also scenes of Auschwitz in the background, too. A dreem of hours, of ours.
Can we say Kaddish for these ones too? They are crying out in my Soul. They want to return to the world but they are still in traum.
Befor the Hi Preest Assenden
I askt Rabbi Yosee,
"May I even say my kwesten?"
He sed, "Sho it so yur tents kan be juj."
I ask, "Wen will we rebild the Tempel,
"And ware?"
Then Rabbi Yosee sat me down beneeth a tree
And all the leevs ov the tree wer illume,
Goelden ritingz allong thaer interkut vaenz.
He kwiklee skannd thru the jenome
And az he did, hiz fase reflekten thaer brillyen liets.
"Heer, I will giv yu the Torrah,
"But nex yu must lern its Mishneh.
"Thare ar being three Tempelz.
"The Firs the Lor haz laening in yur Soel,
"Frum its fowndaten tu its kurven rafter roof.
"The Sekken the Romanz, hu yu liv ammung,
"Ar wont tu tare down az yu ar bild.
"This iz the Tempel ov yur Praer-Staet
"And wen all the Preesthoud iz bilding
"It kumz tu kompleten.
"Wen the Praer-Staet Temple iz thronging
"And the brokade kertenz ov the Ark ar open
"The werk ov the Therd Tempel iz begin.
"Az a sine befor yur iyz:
"How far hav yu led the Naeshenz?
"Wen yu plase the nex stone
"The Naeshenz will fall on thaer fasez in aw.
"Els the stone iz not in plase."
Can we say Kaddish for these ones too? They are crying out in my Soul. They want to return to the world but they are still in traum.
Befor the Hi Preest Assenden
I askt Rabbi Yosee,
"May I even say my kwesten?"
He sed, "Sho it so yur tents kan be juj."
I ask, "Wen will we rebild the Tempel,
"And ware?"
Then Rabbi Yosee sat me down beneeth a tree
And all the leevs ov the tree wer illume,
Goelden ritingz allong thaer interkut vaenz.
He kwiklee skannd thru the jenome
And az he did, hiz fase reflekten thaer brillyen liets.
"Heer, I will giv yu the Torrah,
"But nex yu must lern its Mishneh.
"Thare ar being three Tempelz.
"The Firs the Lor haz laening in yur Soel,
"Frum its fowndaten tu its kurven rafter roof.
"The Sekken the Romanz, hu yu liv ammung,
"Ar wont tu tare down az yu ar bild.
"This iz the Tempel ov yur Praer-Staet
"And wen all the Preesthoud iz bilding
"It kumz tu kompleten.
"Wen the Praer-Staet Temple iz thronging
"And the brokade kertenz ov the Ark ar open
"The werk ov the Therd Tempel iz begin.
"Az a sine befor yur iyz:
"How far hav yu led the Naeshenz?
"Wen yu plase the nex stone
"The Naeshenz will fall on thaer fasez in aw.
"Els the stone iz not in plase."
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Many Messengers, One Message
A holy message is shaped differently by the soul of each of its messengers, and by the needs of those they address it to, and yet it is but one message.
A Vizhen Karvd in 2 Seelz
Reb Stienbek sed,
"The men taested the akrid aer
"And saw thaer krop kut down tu the grownd,
"Dust on thaer fasez and in thaer iyz.
"And thaer wimmen wocht them
"Tu see if thay had broke.
"And the chieldz wocht frum kornerz ov iyz,
"Tu see if thaer dadz wer braken.
"But the men did not brake
"And the wimmen held streng
"And the chieldz thay did not hav feer."
[The Grapes of Wrath, end of chapter 1]
Reb Kallonnemus Kalmon sed,
"The men taested the akrid aer
"And saw thaer shtettelz kut down tu the grownd,
"Ash on thaer fasez and in thaer iyz.
"And thaer wimmen wocht them
"Tu see if thay lost faeth,
"And thaer chieldz wocht frum kornerz ov roomz
"Tu see if thaer poppaz had lost the Hullakha.
"The menz iyz wer hard, a flint reflekten,
"Struk hard till it sparks and kursen.
"The time of marreev* kame [* evening prayers]
"And thay gatherd in the dirtee sellerz.
"Abbuv they herd it, 'vehhu rekhuem....'** [** see 1 below]
"And the wimmen held streng.
"And the chieldz, thay gleend hope."
And Reb Kalmonz Seel, hiz Aesh Koydesh,** [** see 2 below]
"We shall be restoren, oh pepel.
"Yu kannot be braken."
**1. "vehhu rekhuem," Hebrew for 'And He, the Merciful,' the words that begin the evening prayers
**2. "Aesh Koydesh," literally "holy fire"; Reb Kalmon's sermons in the Warsaw Ghetto, compiled by his chassidim, and miraculously discovered after the war, in the rubble.]
A Vizhen Karvd in 2 Seelz
Reb Stienbek sed,
"The men taested the akrid aer
"And saw thaer krop kut down tu the grownd,
"Dust on thaer fasez and in thaer iyz.
"And thaer wimmen wocht them
"Tu see if thay had broke.
"And the chieldz wocht frum kornerz ov iyz,
"Tu see if thaer dadz wer braken.
"But the men did not brake
"And the wimmen held streng
"And the chieldz thay did not hav feer."
[The Grapes of Wrath, end of chapter 1]
Reb Kallonnemus Kalmon sed,
"The men taested the akrid aer
"And saw thaer shtettelz kut down tu the grownd,
"Ash on thaer fasez and in thaer iyz.
"And thaer wimmen wocht them
"Tu see if thay lost faeth,
"And thaer chieldz wocht frum kornerz ov roomz
"Tu see if thaer poppaz had lost the Hullakha.
"The menz iyz wer hard, a flint reflekten,
"Struk hard till it sparks and kursen.
"The time of marreev* kame [* evening prayers]
"And thay gatherd in the dirtee sellerz.
"Abbuv they herd it, 'vehhu rekhuem....'** [** see 1 below]
"And the wimmen held streng.
"And the chieldz, thay gleend hope."
And Reb Kalmonz Seel, hiz Aesh Koydesh,** [** see 2 below]
"We shall be restoren, oh pepel.
"Yu kannot be braken."
**1. "vehhu rekhuem," Hebrew for 'And He, the Merciful,' the words that begin the evening prayers
**2. "Aesh Koydesh," literally "holy fire"; Reb Kalmon's sermons in the Warsaw Ghetto, compiled by his chassidim, and miraculously discovered after the war, in the rubble.]
Monday, July 24, 2006
The Mosk iz Krumbel
The Mosk iz Krumbel
In the west and akross Ewroep the kry rizez up
Tu expel the Muzlim and ban him by law.
And in the Indeya eest and the Farther Eest
Thay raez arm aggenst the Islommek kursader,
The aeraggent invader, tu drive hem owt.
In the north, in Russ, thay kursh the Muzlim vois
And the sik jehodder in hiz suwasside hate.
In the Afrekken sowth, in the lawless plase,
The Muzlim owtpoests ar under seej;
Duss and fammen nerrish thaer kreed.
In the hart uv Arabeya and the bowwelz uv Eron
Thay kling tu the mith that the werld will fall
Tu Islom; thay saten thaer Seel with poizen.
Thaer hart and bowwelz kry owt for wor.
Drunken, thay vommit thaer furee; thay fowl
Themsellz and kry owt for strenger dreenk.
Dellereyus, thay stagger over the breenk.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Stepping away from my historical review, to a poem addressing current events...
Volkeree, Retern!
"O volkeree vois, retern tu me!
"O vois ov the muskee Ertha, retern.
"O vois prowd, o vois unrepenten,
"O volkeree vois, retern tu me."
"Rize up frum owwer unknoen ansest, arrize;
"Kwik ov sharp ejjez, sord and nife;
"Lowd in the charjing ov horsez hoovz.
"Pord like hot oyl, harts karvd in ise."
"Frons, prepare! Ittalya, prepare!
"Shvaden, Espanya, Osterland, prepare!
"Sereya and Libnon, Yemmen, Irron,
"Yu paganz, obesens tu yur volkeree soel!"
"Prepare wuns aggen the infernel offerringz:
"Blud ov oeld ramz, blud ov the kidz;
"Brake the wingz ov the lark and the duv;
"Konsume the Preesthoud with fiyer and klub."
"Hael the unavversiteez, thaer breeden ov hate.
"Hiel the Fillistinneyanz and thaer chield sakraffise."
"Hael the brownshirt and kaffeya waring yewth,
"And hiel the iyatollaz showting 'deth tu em Jewz!'
In Yerueshalliyimz sinnaggogz the Sajez ar bent
Over parchmen skroelz, rekording theze events.
Behiend them, soft chanting, the salmz ov sorro
And the salmz tu redeemen, the vois ov Yisroyel:
"6 dekkade sins the paganz ov Ewrope broke owt
"On the land, a wor aggenst the Preesthoud ov God.
"The ruwen, thaer shame thay hav kleen forgot,
"And aggen thay revert tu thaer pagan hart."
"Unna Uddoniy, hoesheya nuh.
"Unna Uddoniy, hoesheya nuh.
"Unna Uddoniy, hutsleekha nuh.
"Unna Uddoniy, hutsleekha nuh.*"
* Please God, redeem now.
Please God, bring success now.
From Psalm 118
Volkeree, Retern!
"O volkeree vois, retern tu me!
"O vois ov the muskee Ertha, retern.
"O vois prowd, o vois unrepenten,
"O volkeree vois, retern tu me."
"Rize up frum owwer unknoen ansest, arrize;
"Kwik ov sharp ejjez, sord and nife;
"Lowd in the charjing ov horsez hoovz.
"Pord like hot oyl, harts karvd in ise."
"Frons, prepare! Ittalya, prepare!
"Shvaden, Espanya, Osterland, prepare!
"Sereya and Libnon, Yemmen, Irron,
"Yu paganz, obesens tu yur volkeree soel!"
"Prepare wuns aggen the infernel offerringz:
"Blud ov oeld ramz, blud ov the kidz;
"Brake the wingz ov the lark and the duv;
"Konsume the Preesthoud with fiyer and klub."
"Hael the unavversiteez, thaer breeden ov hate.
"Hiel the Fillistinneyanz and thaer chield sakraffise."
"Hael the brownshirt and kaffeya waring yewth,
"And hiel the iyatollaz showting 'deth tu em Jewz!'
In Yerueshalliyimz sinnaggogz the Sajez ar bent
Over parchmen skroelz, rekording theze events.
Behiend them, soft chanting, the salmz ov sorro
And the salmz tu redeemen, the vois ov Yisroyel:
"6 dekkade sins the paganz ov Ewrope broke owt
"On the land, a wor aggenst the Preesthoud ov God.
"The ruwen, thaer shame thay hav kleen forgot,
"And aggen thay revert tu thaer pagan hart."
"Unna Uddoniy, hoesheya nuh.
"Unna Uddoniy, hoesheya nuh.
"Unna Uddoniy, hutsleekha nuh.
"Unna Uddoniy, hutsleekha nuh.*"
* Please God, redeem now.
Please God, bring success now.
From Psalm 118
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Part 2 of a Docent's tour of my poetry.
From 1982 to 1986 I worked on a long mythic poem that remains largely unexcavated from my notebooks. It morphed into The Song ov Elmallahz Kumming, a poem in six books. This is a historical poem, in a manner of speaking. It is the story of a Divine Messenger (Elmallah) who is sent to Ertha to spiritualize her. Each book is a particular historical moment. Book 1 is Elmallah's first impression. Book 2 is a prehistoric panorama. In Book 3 Elmallah takes the form of Dumuzi, of Sumerian myth. He is the husband/worshipper of the goddess Innana. I have rewritten that myth, holding closely to the original narrative, but giving it a new intention. Book 4 is set in Constantinople, as a retelling of the story of Justinian and Theodora, rulers of Byzantium at its pinnacle. From my extended stays in Istanbul I gleaned the detailed backdrops for many of the scenes in this book. In Book 5 I move to medieval France and the remarkable story of Heloise and Abalard. It is a very cinematographic retelling of their history, the penultimate scene in Elmallah's awakening of Ertha. Finally Book 6 is set in the Shoah (the Holocaust). A female "disciple" of Kalonimus Kalman, the great sage and rabbi of the Warsaw Ghetto, escapes from the nazi death grip to carry a Torah scroll to Palestine. This book is still incomplete and must be read in its rough copy version (a formidable task, I daresay). And this brings us to the current state of Elmallah's awakening of the human Soul. This long poem is a richly textured and visual historical-spiritual journey. I have reread it many times, and yet it still astonishes me. I often wonder if I was the author, or merely the stenographer.
With Ammung the Ruwenz ov the Tempel, I Herd... my poetry takes on, not just a Jewish flavor, but a devotedly Jewish voice. It is a collection of gleanings from the corners of fields that have been planted and harvested by my many teachers. In these times, the sages harvest in such abundance, that even gleaners like me come away with visionary wisdom. You will hear the songs and prayers and revelations of a profound Jewish renewal that is reshaping the world, in spite of everything. These poems have no overt narrative connecting them as a single story. The narrative instead stands as backdrop: the Shoah (Holocaust), the restoration of Israel, and the Divine subtext that drives all history.
In 1972 I had a moment of clarity and wrote, "What is spirit to the flesh is flesh to the spirit." I didn't understand that aphorism until ten years later, after watching my perspective move in a slow sweep from the physical and linear towards the spiritual and analogic. Another 25 years later, and now I see that this movement has become the defining feature of my poetic development. My focal point has moved progressively to more rarified levels of consciousness. In the Harvest ov Nations is grounded in a personal and psychological perspective. I wrote The Song ov Elmallahz Kumming over a 15+ year period. I began it more or less on the same plane as Harvest, with a fairly linear and continuous narrative. But by Book 3, the Innana story, the narrative began to fragment, as the focal point oscillated between the human and transmigrant (a phrase I'm coining here to convey a very literal transpersonal state). That became the dominant mode for the rest of Elmallahz Kumming. With the poem Ammung the Ruwenz ov the Tempel, I Herd... physical reality faded into a metaphor for higher states, including the transmigrant and the Prophetic (in which one approaches the Divine Imperative). In the poem I am currently composing (which is not yet available to read), the dream state is the closest I come to the physical world.
From 1982 to 1986 I worked on a long mythic poem that remains largely unexcavated from my notebooks. It morphed into The Song ov Elmallahz Kumming, a poem in six books. This is a historical poem, in a manner of speaking. It is the story of a Divine Messenger (Elmallah) who is sent to Ertha to spiritualize her. Each book is a particular historical moment. Book 1 is Elmallah's first impression. Book 2 is a prehistoric panorama. In Book 3 Elmallah takes the form of Dumuzi, of Sumerian myth. He is the husband/worshipper of the goddess Innana. I have rewritten that myth, holding closely to the original narrative, but giving it a new intention. Book 4 is set in Constantinople, as a retelling of the story of Justinian and Theodora, rulers of Byzantium at its pinnacle. From my extended stays in Istanbul I gleaned the detailed backdrops for many of the scenes in this book. In Book 5 I move to medieval France and the remarkable story of Heloise and Abalard. It is a very cinematographic retelling of their history, the penultimate scene in Elmallah's awakening of Ertha. Finally Book 6 is set in the Shoah (the Holocaust). A female "disciple" of Kalonimus Kalman, the great sage and rabbi of the Warsaw Ghetto, escapes from the nazi death grip to carry a Torah scroll to Palestine. This book is still incomplete and must be read in its rough copy version (a formidable task, I daresay). And this brings us to the current state of Elmallah's awakening of the human Soul. This long poem is a richly textured and visual historical-spiritual journey. I have reread it many times, and yet it still astonishes me. I often wonder if I was the author, or merely the stenographer.
With Ammung the Ruwenz ov the Tempel, I Herd... my poetry takes on, not just a Jewish flavor, but a devotedly Jewish voice. It is a collection of gleanings from the corners of fields that have been planted and harvested by my many teachers. In these times, the sages harvest in such abundance, that even gleaners like me come away with visionary wisdom. You will hear the songs and prayers and revelations of a profound Jewish renewal that is reshaping the world, in spite of everything. These poems have no overt narrative connecting them as a single story. The narrative instead stands as backdrop: the Shoah (Holocaust), the restoration of Israel, and the Divine subtext that drives all history.
In 1972 I had a moment of clarity and wrote, "What is spirit to the flesh is flesh to the spirit." I didn't understand that aphorism until ten years later, after watching my perspective move in a slow sweep from the physical and linear towards the spiritual and analogic. Another 25 years later, and now I see that this movement has become the defining feature of my poetic development. My focal point has moved progressively to more rarified levels of consciousness. In the Harvest ov Nations is grounded in a personal and psychological perspective. I wrote The Song ov Elmallahz Kumming over a 15+ year period. I began it more or less on the same plane as Harvest, with a fairly linear and continuous narrative. But by Book 3, the Innana story, the narrative began to fragment, as the focal point oscillated between the human and transmigrant (a phrase I'm coining here to convey a very literal transpersonal state). That became the dominant mode for the rest of Elmallahz Kumming. With the poem Ammung the Ruwenz ov the Tempel, I Herd... physical reality faded into a metaphor for higher states, including the transmigrant and the Prophetic (in which one approaches the Divine Imperative). In the poem I am currently composing (which is not yet available to read), the dream state is the closest I come to the physical world.
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