Jerusalem Poems
Five poems from Jerusalem, written by Ester Karen Aida, on Meta/ Phor(e) /Play.
Hear the Dissonance | Video
A HamiltonSeen film by Cody Lanktree of Michael Dickel reading his poem, “But Hear the Dissonance, 1948-2012.”
Letter, Café, Ledges | Three Poems by Michael E. Stone
Michael Stone takes us from memory through observation to hope—three poems on Meta/ Phor(e) /Play.
Jerusalem’s Garden — Hybrid
A hybrid essay-fiction flash set in a mystical garden that doesn’t exist in Jerusalem Recalled but possibly in Jerusalem Imagined.
15 January 2017— Poem
The MLK weekend, a rainy day near Jerusalem, contemplating the U.S. inauguration coming up Friday, 20 Jan, 2017. A prose poem by Michael Dickel.
Circumstances (poem)
Circumstances My eyes shutter closed. Sirens scream because what else could they say? A bomb went off in a bus just up the street from here, down from the ice cream shop, “Whipped Cream.” The kids and I walked out of it about an hour before. No one […]
W/rites and Rhapsodies
Adeena Karasick and Michael Dickel will host an exciting tour of Israel that will hit highlights but also delve into the unusual. Throughout, the tour will inspire, prompt, encourage you to write with workshops, performances, and lots of deep language play.
Winter window—a poem with art
Winter window Outside the opportune window one pink head survives above geranium leaves blowing in the winter wind, covered with cold rain dropped from dimmed desire. The basil released its hope in the face of the war— forces of December and January— mere stalks rising above the window box, darkly silhouetted, […]
War Surrounds Us
“Michael Dickel’s new book is an explosive tour de force. From Breaking News to all that shivers beneath the surface, it takes us on a visceral ride as the rockets are falling through screaming surfaces, tunnels cease fires and death tolls; rocketing all night through missiles, mortars, sensors, sirens, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Meta/ Phor(e) /Play 