Two Ekphratic Poems
Two poems to go with paintings of Greenland. Art by Judith Appleton, poems by Michael Dickel.
Flash Surrealism
Programming cultural DNA The troglodyte tree emerged from its cave exactly when three lights lit the evening sky on the New Moon that fell before the birth-month of mother owl. Just a hatchling of course, in her first month, and a growth to maturity away from motherhood—but she […]
Flash Fiction— Late for Dinner
Why she was late for dinner… A bag falls to the sidewalk, glass shatters, wine spills—a ghost woke and walked by her, a forgotten moment now scented by shiraz evaporating on hot cement. These days she simply shrugs off such occurrences—hidden minutes pour out along her path wherever […]
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 […]
Flash Fiction: Moshe’s House in Space
The following flash fiction responds to a prompt (the photo above) from the Short Story and Flash Fiction Society, for their second flash fiction contest; the story is 392 words, not counting the title (or this blog-post introduction). Moshe is our son’s name, he is three (almost four), and […]
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 […]
A Poem from Jerusalem
As the War Continues i That war in the little southwest strip, its violence drowns out all sounds— words drain of meaning and become white spaces against blood-red paper. The numbers rise up, a large pile of bodies reaching toward the sun to ignite and burn, a pyre […]
Jerusalem Update—14 July 2014
In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv it was relatively quiet today. Most of the rockets were aimed closer to Gaza, in the southern communities. I had a faculty meeting in Tel Aviv today so drove in. There were no sirens or rockets while I was there, or for most of […]
A poem from Israel—14 July 2014
The Cost of Yellow I know there’s a war going on, but yellow flowers cover trees in the parking lot as I pull in. True, missiles shatter lives while destroying buildings, but fallen petals cover the tarmac with a fairy-yellow glow. Yes, sirens send us underground while rocket’s […]
Jerusalem Update—11–12 July 2014
Friday was quiet for us in Jerusalem. In the morning we met with friends with whom we share Johrei, an alternative Japanese energy-healing practice. We included the situation and region in our meditation and prayers for peace. Other than making sure we knew where the safe area was […]
Jerusalem Update—10 July 2014
Aviva and the children are asleep on this hot summer’s night. Today the temperature reached 36 C., well into the 90s F., and it hasn’t cooled as much as usual yet. Unfortunately, the heat of conflict also was high. We are all fine, of course, other than Moshe’s […]
Second Jerusalem Update—Another Letter, 9 July 2014
After last night’s excitement with the alert sirens and bomb shelter foray, things quieted down here. Apparently rocket fire from Gaza also slowed down in the night, but picked up again in the morning. While Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport have had rocket attacks today, according to […]
Jerusalem Update—A Letter, 8 July 2014
We are safe at home in Jerusalem tonight, but the situation in Israel has gotten worse by the day. I imagine that you have been hearing news reports out of Israel. The situation has escalated in the past 48 hours and in the early hours of Tuesday morning, July […]
Where we are (8 July 2014)
The past weeks have shown how deep are the wounds here in Israel. The storm rages around us. The kidnapping three weeks ago turned to murder, it seems right after the boys were taken. Despite the facts we now know, that it was known from the first they […]
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 […]
Escaping Rooster
A bit over a week ago we visited the Jerusalem Zoo. In the children’s area, goats and roosters run loose. Other animals stay in pens nearby, and both the goats and roosters can escape into the pens. It’s all made of wood with a very distinct ranch feeling. […]
