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Rosh HaShana 5783
The earth beneath and stars on high,
The gusting winds that grace the sky,
Migration of the butterfly,
Trees and flowers that beautify,
The depth of seas and deserts dry,
Attune the soul and sensitize;
Some spend their life asking why,
Why, why, why, why, why, why,
I tell them this they should abide,
Our place and purpose are sanctified,
We were not cast out from Paradise,
This is the first of many lies,
From texts that we internalize,
And the Judgment that they sermonize,
Another lie, another lie,
But one truth can never be denied,
And this you may memorialize,
Everything survives, everything's alive,
Survey the expanse of your insides,
The circuitry of heart and mind,
There’s no doubt you will find,
The dead do rise, the dead do rise.
Van Morrison sings: "It ain't why why why ... it just is." ("Summertime in England"). Some sweet thoughts for the new year, Mr. Rotchin! Taking the focus off sin and guilt and shining your light on the miracles of existence, the beauty and unity of the universe, the unfathomable details of the world inside of us and outside of us. Yeah, good stuff! And presented with a sustained rhyme that takes you from beginning to end!
ReplyDeleteWalking home from shul with my wife yesterday, I said, "I think I'm going to try to be more of Zen Buddhist this year." I said: "I read a book about Zen ["Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"] earlier this year, but I don't remember a thing about it. I guess that means I was living in the moment when I read it." My wife corrected me: "If you were living in the moment, you would have remembered everything in the book." Oh well. I guess she's right. Anyway, all I know is we just gotta keep writing poetry, and keep seeing the poetry in the world around us. "There's no doubting you will find, the dead do rise, the dead do rise."
Oh man Kelp, uncanny. You are most definitely my brother from another mother. The poem was actually inspired by some reading I'm doing on Taoism/Buddhism. Also the opening stanzas of the poem Renascence by Millay. Also the recent untimely loss of a friend. My mantra is 'accept' which does not mean anything goes (harm, evil, natural disaster etc.) it means that the first step to any positive change is acceptance of reality, in all its intellectual complexity and emotional/spiritual dimensionality. The harshness of judgment (whether self-judgment or from On-high) is not where it's at for me. I wish you and your family the blessings of meaning, health and creativity for the coming year.
ReplyDeleteRight back at ya, bro! You know, btw, that I just a couple of weeks ago finished "The Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay." What a great poet! I earmarked my favorite poems, and half the book is earmarked! Right now I am reading the collected works of three poets: Yehuda Amichai, Stanley Kunitz and Lucille Clifton. Three very different poets with three very different voices. I read a poem (or two) from each before turning the light out each night.
ReplyDelete(Name drop alert) Some day I'll tell you my stories about Amichai. One in Montreal. One in Jerusalem. I spent some memorable time with him thirty years ago.
ReplyDeleteWould love to hear your Amichai stories. We should schedule a zoom call!
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