Time washes the gardenia
from its hard-leaved branch
again and again,
in a ritual that hopes
to drop seeds,
but always leaves
a curled and browned
memory of spring
and early summer.
12/22/15
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
THE PECERA
The pecera,
or fishpond,
has long been a raised
garden bed.
Now, with weed
stalks piled high
in the wheelbarrow,
I dig and rake the
musty root masses from
the soil enriched by
fireplace ashes, topsoil,
and the dog's
long-dried contributions.
Thinking about the cycle
of life, I press the
precious seeds into
the humid earth:
the seeds of
a very special
crop.
11/9/15
The pecera,
or fishpond,
has long been a raised
garden bed.
Now, with weed
stalks piled high
in the wheelbarrow,
I dig and rake the
musty root masses from
the soil enriched by
fireplace ashes, topsoil,
and the dog's
long-dried contributions.
Thinking about the cycle
of life, I press the
precious seeds into
the humid earth:
the seeds of
a very special
crop.
11/9/15
Mosaic - ALL FLESH IS GRASS
"Der mentsh--azoy vi graz zaynen zayne teg
vi a shprautzung fun feld, azoy shprautzt er." --Tilim 103.15
Man--his days are like those of grass,
he blooms like a flower of the field.
homo sicut faenum dies eius
tamquam flos agri sic efflorebit
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
homo quasi herba dies eius
sicut flos agri sic florebit
All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
Hominis dies sunt similes faeno,
sicut flos agri, ita floret.
"It is, it was,
It is done,
While we sigh 'Alas!'"
"All flesh is weak.
All flesh is grass,
I corrected her
in my head"
"as my friend Ernie
rose in a puff
of smoke."
11/8/15
"Der mentsh--azoy vi graz zaynen zayne teg
vi a shprautzung fun feld, azoy shprautzt er." --Tilim 103.15
Man--his days are like those of grass,
he blooms like a flower of the field.
homo sicut faenum dies eius
tamquam flos agri sic efflorebit
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
homo quasi herba dies eius
sicut flos agri sic florebit
All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
Hominis dies sunt similes faeno,
sicut flos agri, ita floret.
"It is, it was,
It is done,
While we sigh 'Alas!'"
"All flesh is weak.
All flesh is grass,
I corrected her
in my head"
"as my friend Ernie
rose in a puff
of smoke."
11/8/15
A MYSTERY
"Why are you crying?"
I asked my mother.
"Because President
Roosevelt died.
He was a good man,
and we liked him
very much.
You wouldn't
understand."
She was right,
but I was only
two and a half.
I didn't know
the meaning of
"president,"
or even
the meaning of
"died."
But I knew,
as I meditated
under the
keyboard of
the upright
piano,
that there was
a mystery
there.
11/2/15
"Why are you crying?"
I asked my mother.
"Because President
Roosevelt died.
He was a good man,
and we liked him
very much.
You wouldn't
understand."
She was right,
but I was only
two and a half.
I didn't know
the meaning of
"president,"
or even
the meaning of
"died."
But I knew,
as I meditated
under the
keyboard of
the upright
piano,
that there was
a mystery
there.
11/2/15
MR. KOSMO
I first saw him
when we were both
teachers at the
language school.
I was in my twenties,
he in his sixties.
He was bundled up
in an overcoat
at any time of year.
He'd been in a
concentration camp
during the War.
Twenty years later,
he still had a
haunted and
frightened look.
We had both stayed
in the same skid row
hotel in San
Francisco when we
first arrived, but
years later,
he was still there.
It seemed a cruel
fate, that he
could only survive
by teaching
German.
Over the years
his name
has evolved
in my mind,
until now
I think of him
as Mister
All.
10/30/15
I first saw him
when we were both
teachers at the
language school.
I was in my twenties,
he in his sixties.
He was bundled up
in an overcoat
at any time of year.
He'd been in a
concentration camp
during the War.
Twenty years later,
he still had a
haunted and
frightened look.
We had both stayed
in the same skid row
hotel in San
Francisco when we
first arrived, but
years later,
he was still there.
It seemed a cruel
fate, that he
could only survive
by teaching
German.
Over the years
his name
has evolved
in my mind,
until now
I think of him
as Mister
All.
10/30/15
I'VE SLEPT IN THE OLD GHETTO
I've slept in the Old Ghetto
of Venice, and visited all
the standing synagogues
of Spain, but how
do I remember
a shtetl in the Ukraine?
A doctor in a skull cap?
A Talmud I've not studied?
Languages I've barely learned?
There is a genealogy
of the soul,
a DNA of the spirit,
and when it speaks,
we should hear it.
10/11/15, revised Nov. 16 2016
I've slept in the Old Ghetto
of Venice, and visited all
the standing synagogues
of Spain, but how
do I remember
a shtetl in the Ukraine?
A doctor in a skull cap?
A Talmud I've not studied?
Languages I've barely learned?
There is a genealogy
of the soul,
a DNA of the spirit,
and when it speaks,
we should hear it.
10/11/15, revised Nov. 16 2016
SR. KOSMO
Lo vi por primera vez
cuando los dos éramos
profesores en la
escuela de idiomas.
Yo estaba en mis veinte años,
y él en sus sesenta.
Estaba envuelto
en un abrigo pesado
en cualquier estación del año.
Había estado en un
campo de concentración
durante la guerra.
Veinte años más tarde,
todavía tenía un
aspecto perseguido
y asustado.
Los dos habíamos estado
en el mismo hotel deslustrado
y barato en San
Francisco cuando
llegamos, pero
años después,
él todavía estaba allí.
Que él sólo podía
sobrevivir mediante
la enseñanza
del alemán
parecía un
destino cruel.
A través de los años
su nombre
ha evolucionado
en mi mente,
hasta ahora
que pienso en él
como el Señor
Todos.
30 de octubre 2015
Lo vi por primera vez
cuando los dos éramos
profesores en la
escuela de idiomas.
Yo estaba en mis veinte años,
y él en sus sesenta.
Estaba envuelto
en un abrigo pesado
en cualquier estación del año.
Había estado en un
campo de concentración
durante la guerra.
Veinte años más tarde,
todavía tenía un
aspecto perseguido
y asustado.
Los dos habíamos estado
en el mismo hotel deslustrado
y barato en San
Francisco cuando
llegamos, pero
años después,
él todavía estaba allí.
Que él sólo podía
sobrevivir mediante
la enseñanza
del alemán
parecía un
destino cruel.
A través de los años
su nombre
ha evolucionado
en mi mente,
hasta ahora
que pienso en él
como el Señor
Todos.
30 de octubre 2015
DATITLA
by Pablo Neruda,
And when, on the way back,
your mouth gleamed under the pinegroves
of Datitla, and above,
extravagant birds
whistled, crackled
and sang
under the moon of Montevideo, then
I returned to your love,
to the joy of your wide eyes,
I got down and touched the earth,
loving you and loving
my lucky wanderings.
translated by Donald Traxler October 3 2015
by Pablo Neruda,
And when, on the way back,
your mouth gleamed under the pinegroves
of Datitla, and above,
extravagant birds
whistled, crackled
and sang
under the moon of Montevideo, then
I returned to your love,
to the joy of your wide eyes,
I got down and touched the earth,
loving you and loving
my lucky wanderings.
translated by Donald Traxler October 3 2015
Neither Time nor Space (with translations: ptl, es, fr)
NEITHER TIME NOR SPACE
If neither time nor space
were any barrier at all,
what would we choose to do?
Travel to unknown galaxies,
visit alien cities?
Right the wrongs of history,
hear the sounds
of extinct languages,
live in more romantic eras?
Or would we only choose
to reunite with those
who are no longer here?
20 Oct 2015
[portunhol surenho]
Se nem tempo nem espaço eram alguma barreira, qué escosheríamo fazé? Viajá para galáxias desconhecidas, visitá cidades estrangeiras? Corregí os erros da história, ouvir os sons de línguas extintas, viver em eras mais románticas? Ou somente escosheríamo reunir-nos com aqueles quem non están mais acá?
[español]
Si ni el tiempo ni el espacio fueran alguna barrera en absoluto, ¿Qué elegiríamos hacer? ¿Viajar a galaxias desconocidas, visitar ciudades extraterrestres? ¿Corregir los errores de la historia, escuchar los sonidos de lenguas extintas, vivir en eras más románticas? ¿O solo elegiríamos reunirnos con aquellos que ya no están aquí?
[français]
Si ni le temps ni l'espace était une barrière du tout, que choisirions-nous de faire? Voyager aux galaxies inconnues, visiter des villes étrangères? Corriger les torts de l'histoire, entendre les sons de langues éteintes, vivre dans des époques plus romantiques? Ou pourrions-nous seulement choisir nous réunir avec ceux qui ne sont plus là?
If neither time nor space
were any barrier at all,
what would we choose to do?
Travel to unknown galaxies,
visit alien cities?
Right the wrongs of history,
hear the sounds
of extinct languages,
live in more romantic eras?
Or would we only choose
to reunite with those
who are no longer here?
20 Oct 2015
[portunhol surenho]
Se nem tempo nem espaço eram alguma barreira, qué escosheríamo fazé? Viajá para galáxias desconhecidas, visitá cidades estrangeiras? Corregí os erros da história, ouvir os sons de línguas extintas, viver em eras mais románticas? Ou somente escosheríamo reunir-nos com aqueles quem non están mais acá?
[español]
Si ni el tiempo ni el espacio fueran alguna barrera en absoluto, ¿Qué elegiríamos hacer? ¿Viajar a galaxias desconocidas, visitar ciudades extraterrestres? ¿Corregir los errores de la historia, escuchar los sonidos de lenguas extintas, vivir en eras más románticas? ¿O solo elegiríamos reunirnos con aquellos que ya no están aquí?
[français]
Si ni le temps ni l'espace était une barrière du tout, que choisirions-nous de faire? Voyager aux galaxies inconnues, visiter des villes étrangères? Corriger les torts de l'histoire, entendre les sons de langues éteintes, vivre dans des époques plus romantiques? Ou pourrions-nous seulement choisir nous réunir avec ceux qui ne sont plus là?
Mercy and Truth (with translations)
CHESED V'EMET
"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee..." --Prv. 3.3
Two flags float
In a fragile bottle
On a stormy sea.
The rocks are near,
But where is mercy?
18 October 2015
[Hebrew]
שני דגלים צפים בבקבוק שביר על ים סוער. הסלעים קרובים, אבל איפה רחמים?
[Arabic]
اثنين من أعلام تعويم في زجاجة هشة على بحر عاصف. الصخور قريبة، ولكن أين هي الرحمة؟
"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee..." --Prv. 3.3
Two flags float
In a fragile bottle
On a stormy sea.
The rocks are near,
But where is mercy?
18 October 2015
[Hebrew]
שני דגלים צפים בבקבוק שביר על ים סוער. הסלעים קרובים, אבל איפה רחמים?
[Arabic]
اثنين من أعلام تعويم في زجاجة هشة على بحر عاصف. الصخور قريبة، ولكن أين هي الرحمة؟