You are a shower of gold
and withhold
the weight of your beauty
Though all my skin is touched
with gentle shine
gold so fine
sifts through flesh like lace
leaving no trace
of the fullness of knowing
until long after
the sowing
You mean there are Arabs in Israel? An old friend in England who hasn’t been in touch with me for a while. Let me see, I thought for a moment. On each of the three channels we watch there are news reporters and moderators who are Arab. The 5 pharmacists in the drugstore I visited today were Arab. There are at least 5 Arabs living in my building. I didn’t see whether there were Arabs or not in the restaurant I was in today, but that was because I can’t tell the difference until we converse. And then only sometimes. At least fifty thousand workers from Gaza and the West Bank haven’t been able to come here since the war. I have Arab friends but I haven’t seen most of them since the war began. We are all suffering from this separation.
the 25% – feb 14, 2024 Read Post »
I write my friends in Safed, “Are you okay?” They haven’t answered yet. I don’t believe they’ve been hurt in the bombing today, but the thought of this ancient city, with its priceless antiques and its spiritual population, being exposed to bombing, is beyond my comprehension.
safed – who’s safe – feb 14, 2 Read Post »
Yesterday when I showed my gums to my dentist, she nodded. “Everybody’s got gum trouble now!” And when I showed my sleep chart to my doctor, she said “everyone’s got irregular heart trouble now.” Stress,” they said, separately, “that’s why the covid and flu numbers are up.”
And here I thought I was handling it so well. So trained am I in danger and death, and here I’ve had every single sign of stress – including dehydration.
hair, skin, gums, flu – feb 13, 2024 Read Post »
It seems like that’s all we think about, these hostages. Two were finally rescued last night, and we’re all going crazy. And what of the others? We wear the necklaces and the yellow ribbon pin, we listen to endless interviews of the families of the hostages and know each name and the circumstances of their capture.
Even people who seem to be totally concerned with their own lives break down at a certain point.
I wonder how the people in the square next to the museum, the courts, the opera, the theater, feel about those of us who are continuing their lives. Do they know that we’re with them, even though we’re trying to stay strong?
hostage fever – feb 12, 2024 Read Post »
scared myself. but i’m back and i’m safe. either I’m just scared and making mistakes or somebody doesn’t like me. but i spent the day getting this fixed and i’ll have a new entry shortly – as soon as I figure things out on this site.
first i wanted to protect the safety.
let’s make this week a better one than last week. Every day I feel just a bit better, but somehow I’m still overwhelmed. I joined too many clubs, watch too much news, tried too hard to plan events for the IAWE and for me, and now I can’t keep up. Kids have birthdays, friends have problems, relatives pass away, and some are unforgivably angry at me. My children go to demonstrations and think about moving away. Last year I met one of our cousins at a demonstration and now she’s in Australia. So there is this slight feeling of imposed depression – depression that is not based on a lack of interesting things to do, but on a sense that Hamas, Hizballah, and the government don’t want me to feel good. But somehow I’m going to make it a good week.
good week – feb 10, 2024 Read Post »
When I was first informed that Ezi’s mother’s cousin, Shifra Lancet, had passed away, I was sorry that our planned meeting didn’t take place. A few days after we spoke Ezi came down with covid, then I did, and then she did. But she didn’t survive it, and I know she was okay with that too. She was 101, after all.
But she was my last barrier between me and death. Ezi and I are now the senior generation.
She herself always thought of Ezi’s mother with awe and admiration, and although her memory was fading, she loved telling anecdotes of the old days, and she loved making me things – scarves and stories.
confession – feb 9, 2024 Read Post »
