My free poetry book (a poem)
This is my free poetry book for those who ask… So many things to say so many bargain books, books online, bookshops turning into used books, book store-chic nostalgia as the textbooks […]
This is not a poem
This is not a poem; it’s a fake.
Someone else’s words, images, metaphors
creeping on cat’s feet into my mind,
clawing their way to the top of my consciousness
as though they were mine, mined
Two Ekphratic Poems
Two poems to go with paintings of Greenland. Art by Judith Appleton, poems by Michael Dickel.
Yesterday—a poem of remembrance
Yesterday in Pansy Bradshaw’s memory, may it be for a blessing for gary, as he grieves Parents of an infant girl prayed in thanks at the Kotel after so many years believing they “didn’t merit” a child— the weather nice, reasonably warm for October. At the light rail stop […]
Poem: It wasn’t the sharks
It wasn’t the sharks I lost myself, drowning in waves of sunshine and fear. During stormy weather and when it was clear, I dove underwater to stay out of sight—that is, until sharks came that one lonely night. They struck at my legs and I knew […]
Leonard Cohen turns 80
Aviva and I were married in June, 2007, in Jerusalem. I began this poem a week after the wedding, although it still perhaps is not yet finished. On the occasion of Leonard Cohen’s 80th birthday and the release of his latest album, Popular Problems, though, I am posting the […]
Klezmer evenings…a poem from Tzfat
In Tzfat this Evening The Klezmer festival music plays on and the fireworks blast into the sky exactly on time at ten, brilliant and loud. But the ceasefire broke apart before then, hours before—and Code Red sirens blasted in the South, in Tel Aviv, in Jerusalem, shortly after […]
Solstice Poem
Solstice i Darkness cool and short relieves the solstice heat while the earth stealthily slips around toward winter. ii Dogs darken barks at sight of shadows & eclipses but dance high, with wild glee when they see glinting waves. iii Tree bark peels away only to display colors […]
Poetry Reading
Last December, the Israel Association of Writers in English (IAWE) held a streamed reading by seven member-writers (and an eighth by proxy) from the living room of poet and chair of the association, Karen Alkalay-Gut. Videos from that event have recently been posted here on YouTube. The texts appear […]
Up against the wall,
Up against the wall, …sits odd statuary, sullen sadness created by hand from nothing more or less than general failures that anyone might turn away from on some given day: A house taken by bankers who would not settle for anything less from two buyers, work taken by […]
Layering viral time across Armageddon
Photo montage / digital art / with poem Tel Meggido, an ancient ruin where Armageddon begins— under the depths of lime an old crayfish and the shadow of a fish, unseen, await history to come while the memories of glossy ibis, prehistoric creature of flight, flit fleetingly […]
28 July Poetics Series
This post will be a short break from the Flash Fiction Month posts I’ve been doing so far this month. Every so often, I post Twitter poems (which, of course, have to be short—fewer than 140 characters including any hashtags). Usually, when I do post them, I post […]
IAWE Book Reading 07/07 at 7
Reading I will have the honor of participating in a reading in Tel Aviv with Lois Michal Unger and Karen Alkalay-Gut on 7 July 2013 at 7 pm. The reading is sponsored by the Israel Association of Writers in English (IAWE) to honor books published in the last […]
Two poems from Midwest / Mid-East
Two poems from Midwest / Mid-East Enjoy. These are two poems, pp.23-24, from my book, Midwest / Mid-East. The image in the background is the book cover, of course. The books is currently on sale for 60% off. Click on one of the images to find out more. […]
Overlook—a peace poem
I recently did some poetry workshops at The Jerusalem School of Beit Hanina, in East Jerusalem. The school’s motto is “Peace begins with me,” and my workshops coincided with Peace Days at the school. For that occasion, I wrote this poem, which I’m posting now on the last […]
Two poems for April
For April, two poems published four years ago in a small anthology. Are poems like omelets? What is inspiration? A r s p o e t i c a Water drops in hot oil disappear instantaneously like meaning in conversation between two who do not speak. Steam […]
Don’t Panic: Poetry Books Continue
Do we need to worry about a decline in book sales? I don’t think so. Three reasons why the fear of a decline in sales of books may be misplaced anxiety. The environment is changing, but evidence suggests that more people read now than ever—and this means poetry books, too.
New publications
Check out Issue Seven of Decades Review, where you’ll find a poem of mine, Dirty Laundry, and two photos: Damsel Fly and Hands in Water. Please read the poems, look at the photos, like this post, share with others. Thank you. And thank you to Josh Hess, editor […]
