SEO Series no. 2

Israel Kamakawiwoole sings from the speakers here in Jerusalem, his Hawai’ian poetry, love poems, free love poems to my ears, weaving through Israel. It’s Israel, a new breed, multi-cultural historical Israel, imagined, recalled, revisited: who could make a map of Israel with Israel Kamakawiwoole, with Israel news, no song, no poem most of the time, no love poem for those who cry out, america call I infidel Israel Jihad. Now renounced, terror they war why do they war oh america call I infidel. Israel. Jihad. And the other side, the Israel Palestine side, the Israel travel map to questions so complex from Beirut to Jerusalem, Iran to Israel, Syria to Israel

Gaza. West Bank. East Jerusalem. Western civilization. East meets West at the country western bar, a civilized transaction banking on the eight ball shot, but

what is Israel travel? A love poem for Israel a love poem for Palestine an Israel image, so many Israel images, Israel maps torn asunder and taped back together, green-lined scribbled, crayons in stubby children’s hands, the Jerusalem Bible singing to Iz, Israel Kamakawiwoole, singing his Hawai’ian poetry, his love poetry, his mystic music into the tapestry while on my Israel tour, in this Israel weather, who in Israel power state united can be state or states of disillusion meant in the Jerusalem hotel for Israel sex, God and liberty for all? Green sidewalk chalk ephemeral images of Israel poetry Israel religion Israel politics oh my my wholly holey holy land, filling Albert Hall.

I’ve got the Jerusalem vibration, Israel tour, Palestinian Israel

dance hall concert hall thundering

rhetoric and bombs and rockets and it all leads to Israel war, Eichmann in Jerusalem, a confusion of fever and doubtful conclusions amidst corruption sealed into Israeli history one more time.

An earlier version of this poem appeared six years ago on March 5, 2007, in my MySpace blog, Jerusalem Imagined, Recalled, and Revisited. The image, also titled Israel Tapestry, is a photo montage by the author, rendered in PhotoShop, that originally appeared in why vandalism? September 2007.