Back in 1961, I heard on the radio that Kennedy had sent 500 US Special Forces and military advisors to a place called Vietnam. I was just starting high school at the time. It was the first time I remember hearing about that country. We also had a war going on in the Korean peninsula. Things were pretty tense with the Cold War between NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries. Kennedy and Khrushchev had just played “Chicken” w...

Our “mamad” (a protected room in an apartment constructed with reinforced concrete to withstand anything but a direct impact from a conventional projectile) doubles as a TV room and contains bookshelves and a work niche. On the second shelf above the desk is a small chest reminiscent of a pirate’s treasure chest. It contains most of the coins I had in my pockets while traveling through various countries. Our grandchildren...

"The Poetry Lesson" (inspired by Osip Mandelstam’s “The Stalin Epigram”)   The cell is pitch black except for two cones of stark light, One over a man wearing a sea-green single-breasted tunic, Breeches, polished jackboots, and a peaked cap, Sitting behind a metal desk, And the other over a naked man whose arms and legs are Chained to a four-legged chair with one leg missing.   First man: Name? Second man: Mikhail. FM: Mi...

Professor Bartholomew Hartfeld sat in a tall leather-backed chair behind a dark mahogany desk. He looked irritably at the clock on the wall opposite his desk. His 2:00 pm was late. He flicked the button on the intercom. “Has my two o’clock called to say he’d be late?” Professor Hartfeld asked. “No, sir,” Marta answered. “Please let me know the moment he arrives,” the professor requested, “but have him wait in the waiting...

"A Dark Matter"(Raanana, October 4, 2018) I see you everywhere I goYou follow me even into the bedroomAnd crawl into bed beside meEntering my dreams.You are the dark sun shining your dark photons,Your shadows are my only light.You are every age you've ever been,You are the idea of youJust after I discovered I was pregnant,You are this thing growing in my bellyNow, this homunculus bursting from my wombSuckling my breast,An...

"Shebi" Three in the morning It was half-time and she was a cheerleader. All eyes were on her, but especially Those of the team captain. Suddenly she was at the prom Dressed in white like Cinderella When her husband’s voice intruded rudely. “Shebi! Wake up,” he shouted, pulling her up. “It’s another Code Red – run to Yuval’s room!” He was already running to their living room. She yelled to her husband, “Leave the dog! We...

"Jameela" Three in the morning The shuffle of Rezek’s feet wake her from her thoughts, Not that she was really sleeping. Who can sleep with so much to worry about? Her husband’s pillow is empty. Soon Yousef will come to visit us, My husband’s friend from madrasa. These days Yousef is a big-time commander in Hamas. He will ask about Rezek. Why isn’t he in madrasa like the other boys, he’ll ask, But he’ll mean why isn’t he...

"Yuval" Three in the morning A soft blue light emanated under the blanket. His father stared into the darkness at the tell-tale light And whispered, “Aren’t you asleep yet?” “Wait! I’m fighting the Klaxons,” Yuval whispered back. The twelve-year-old jinxed left and downward Avoiding a thorg and racked up survival points Passing safely through an asteroid belt When the sirens started blaring through the walls And the phone...

"Rezek" Three in the morning Jupiter stares through a crack in the ceiling And Rezek has no time for dreams. He gets out of bed fully dressed And walks barefoot to the porch Where his father pours him a small cup Of scalding bittersweet coffee Which he blows on and sips quickly Slips on his shoes and runs through the night To his uncle’s bakery. Rezek works the furnace and the dough-cutter Eleven hours a day and is lucky...

The Hoopoe’s Call(Harken!)He heard a call from the branches of a treeSomewhere in the woods along the path he walked,Stick in hand to steady his stepsLike a shepherd’s staff.But where?He looked around to seeWho or what had made that call,Almost child-like, but not quite.(Come!)It called again.He squinted his eyes toward the dappling shadowsThe trees made with their leaves and branches,Searching tree by tree for something...

"How will I know when I'm an adult Saba?" the boy asked his grandfather. The grandfather looked into his inviting blue eyes, pools of clear water, careful not to fall into them."Do you want the answer all adults give to their children or do you want my answer?" the saba asked his eleven-year-old grandson, whose name happened to be Daniel, but this saba did not believe in chance. Daniel meant "God has judged me" in Hebrew,...

The Lips of Infinity(Raanana, May 16, 2019) And he welcomed them,The children, the old ones, the infirm,The youth, the busy young men and women,The forsaken and excommunicated,The doubters and disbelievers,Agnostics and atheists,The doctors, the scientists, and technicians,And, yes, philosophers and poets,From all over the world, And he spoke to them in the one languageThey all understood, the language of silence and acti...

With Great Finesse (Raanana, May 11, 2019)   Walking down a dappled path On my way to the harbor for a cup of tea And the smell of salt already in the air, I saw myself coming toward me. How's it going, I asked myself. You should know, myself responded. What do you mean, I queried, Uncomprehending yet apprehensive. You really have no idea, myself secreted. Look, sir, you're far too cryptic Before my morning tea's been dru...

Twilight of the Gods (Raanana, May 2, 2019) Liberated from the shackles of human decency And the bonds of fundamental morality, Girded by Thor's hammer and Aryan superiority They rounded us up in the small hours of night When our innocense slept dreaming Of unicorns and stolen kisses Marching us half-dressed or naked Through the streets to waiting trucks and trains To be turned into soap or lampshades. From our ashes, we...

Distance and Time (Raanana, Israel, July 19, 2017) In the time of the dying light When the distant sun dallies Over the western hills, Its radiant fingers fondling the upper slopes Like expectant breasts to its warm touch, The shadows are long Like our conversations, Careful not to say too much Yet desirous that they not end. In the manicured garden The shadow of the weeping willow by the creek Reaches almost to our lawn...