We are the people,
Who heard the glass breaking
that night as we huddled at home,
Who inhaled the smoke
of the Holy books as they burned,
Who tried to flee but had
nowhere to go, always turned away,
Who visited cosmetic doctors
to reshape our noses to look like the others
Who adopted names to help
erase a potentially painful history to come,
Who now turn a blind eye to those
who expel others from a land we claim
is ours by divine right from a God
of all people, just as specially chosen.
When I was a child, a Rabbi told me
that I did have the ability,
to be used sparingly always,
to petition God for some good.
I filed this away with other stories
from the Torah, pillars of salt,
stone tablets, a flood worse than
the one that filled our basement.
At some point I needed something,
recollections are fortunately vague
now, and petitioned God in the most
humble terms I could imagine.
Nothing, happened, of course,
and when I asked the Rabbi, he said
either you didn’t need it, or perhaps
God was busy meting out justice.
I hope whoever was meted out
justice that day really deserved it,
because all the stories said God’s
justice was the end all of you.
Fourth floor, Antwerp Hilton,
night encasing the Schelde,
ragout of boar and claret
slowly regurgitating, I pause
ancient words, stutteringly said,
hand on my head a shoddy cover
two parts of eight fully remembered
one section only in part,
turning East or a best guess.
I ask nothing, or perhaps too much
it is hard to know, CNN International
offers no clue, no guidance,
head bowed, knees bent
the carpet has a burn hole,
Ani, I am, I do hear
I always hear, now rest
and share my peace.
I write
because words must be said
words must be said
because they eat at my tongue
they eat at my tongue
because they recall the flames of the ovens
they recall the flames of the ovens
because they were forced to shower
they were forced to shower
because they were Jews
they were Jews
because they embraced Torah
they embraced Torah
because they walked through the desert
they walked through the desert
because they followed the trail of manna
they followed the trail of manna
because it led to freedom
it led to freedom
because I saw it in a dream
I saw it in a dream
because a voice whispered it to me
a voice whispered it to me
because I write
an old writer and his words 