blog, my life in tel aviv, poetry, ,

i was sure it would be out for Passover, and I’d be able to send the mobi file to friends for the fun of comparing the stories of Passover with the reality of Egypt and the slaves and the Jews.  I spent at least 2 days editing it so the pictures align with the text.  but this afternoon I was informed that it all came out a mess and I have to start over and a kindle book would be impossible.  it’s such a fun book and to me so enlightening I’m really broken-hearted.  And I have a ton of paperwork from the IAWE to take care of before I leave.  But never mind – I’ll give you a poem in advance:

 

 

Footstool

 

See how each slave is unique –

But Sudanese, Philistinian, or Jew

they’re all tied in one unyielding queue

and you know they’ve been brought

from all over the world,

together on one footstool

under the heel of the Pharaoh

who will never let

these people go

a poem in advance:

 

march 7, 2021 – Egypt: an israelite returns, editing Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv, poetry, , , ,

The New York Times inspired me to finally write about this

when I saw the inauguration last week I kept myself from crying – the way poetry was part of the message of models of faith for the future.  Models FOR faith, not in faith.  HOW to believe in the future and how to be the kind of people that could make it happen.  

The poetry itself seemed more spoken word than poetry to me, but Amanda Gorman did an amazing job in fulfilling the hope that we can change our lives, the direction of our politics.  And Biden’s reinforcement of that kind of belief in his quotation from Heaney’s poetry, something that was characteristic of empathic presidents before him – from Kennedy to Clinton to Biden, made me believe. 

And it made me see the contrasts between our leadership in Israel and the hope for the future in the U.S. government.   When Shimon Peres would quote a line from poetry, you knew he read the poem and chose it himself.  When Bibi – or any of the other politicians in the country – quote a poem, you know they’ve had some speechwriter who had combed the web for famous sayings…  

Thanks to Linda Streit for pointing out this op-ed to me

Please let us hear more encouraging words that shape and enable a better society in the future.

january 24, 2021 – politics and poetry Read Post »