Janis in the Window

Janis was singing
in the open window,
her window,
I'd often passed that way.
I forgot she shouldn't
be there--seemed OK.
Looking inside,
there were others with her,
probably Mimi and Richard,
Jimi, Amy,
and ol' Hank, I'd say,
looking all of twenty-seven,
if a day.
But it wasn't her house,
the one I knew,
it was now
a café.
And they were jammin',
that day.
I ordered a meal
from a tall blonde,
the owner, I'd say.
The food was great--
I asked if it was hers,
she showed me the recipe,
and it was blank.
She offered me
a malt of Lethe,
I asked for something in it,
if you know what I mean.
They'd lose their license, she said,
but then, bottle in hand,
(brandy, I'd say,)
"We know who you are,
I guess it would be okay."
But I said no,
not today,

and went on
my way.


https://youtu.be/azYCMyEvp34

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.

Piano

It was a day like many others
on Wightman Street
in East San Diego,
except that my mother
and grandmother
were crying.
I was two and a half
years old, and hadn't
seen this before.
"What's wrong?"
I asked my mother.
"President Roosevelt died,"
my mother said,
"he was a very good man,
and we liked him
very much. You wouldn't understand."
I didn't understand,
not at all.
I needed to think,
so I went and sat
under the keyboard
of the old, upright
piano.
That piano had come
with the rented house,
when my mother
was in high school.
She was hardly more
than that then,
only twenty-two.
My grandmother,
educated in an Irish
convent school,
was the only one
who could really play
that piano.
I loved it when she
would play The Steamboat
song. The music went like this:
do duh dút do do,
do duh dút do do,
do do do doo do,
do do do doo do.
My mother, who had less skill
and knowledge,
could play "I like coffee,
I like tea, I like the boys,
and the boys like me,"
When I was six or seven,
she showed me how
to play that song.
She said that my fingers were long,
like hers, and that I could reach
an octave.
The old piano, made in Chicago,
was always in tune.
The owner of house and piano,
Mr. Skinner, had a son
who played for the Pittsburgh
Pirates.
Duh duh dút duh duh,
I like the girls,
duh duh dút duh duh,
and the girls like me.
An octave is from "c"
to shining "c,"
and death has no power
over me.

 
Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Jacobson Traxler.

Open Your Mouth and Speak

Open your mouth and speak.
Open your mind and think.
Open your heart and love.
Open your voice and sing.
We are alive,
and we are Life,
Blessed be God.

פתח את פיך ודיבר.
לפתוח את הראש ולחשוב.
פתח את ליבך ואהבתך.
פתח את הקול שלך ושר.
אנו בחיים,
ואנחנו החיים,
'ברוך ה

Ouvre ta bouche et parle.
Ouvre ton esprit et réfléchis.
Ouvre ton coeur et aime.
Ouvre ta voix et chante.
Nous sommes en vie,
et nous sommes la vie,
Béni soit Dieu.

Abre la boca y habla.
Abre tu mente y piensa.
Abre tu corazón y ama.
Abre tu voz y canta.
Estamos vivos,
y somos vida,
Bendito sea Dios.

Malfermu vian buŝon kaj parolu.
Malfermu vian menson kaj pensu.
Malfermu vian koron kaj amu.
Malfermu vian voĉon kaj kantu.
Ni vivas,
kaj ni estas Vivo,
Benita estu Dio.

ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏚ ᏂᎯ ᎠᎰᎵᏁ ᎠᎴ ᎧᏁᎫ.
ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏚ ᏂᎯ ᎣᏓᏅᏛᏁ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏓᏅᏖᏍᎫ.
ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏚ ᏂᎯ ᎠᏓᏅᏙᏁ ᎠᎴ ᎨᏳᎤ.
ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏚ ᏂᎯ ᎧᏁᎬ-ᎤᏃᏴᎬᏁ ᎠᎴ ᎧᏃᎩᏍᏚ.
ᎢᏧᎳ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎬᏃᏛ,
ᎠᎴ ᎢᏧᎳ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎥᎴᏂᏙᎲ,
ᎠᏓᏙᎵᎩᏔ ᎨᏒᎤ ᎡᏆ-ᎠᏓᏅᏙᏁ.

This poem/song is for all my sisters and brothers in the world and in spirit. It, along with the accompanying image, is hereby given into the public domain. Donald C. Jacobson Traxler ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.

Nudity: A Human Right

Now here's something to think about. Unfortunately, there are so many things to think about right now that this one may just get lost.

In 1981 and '82 my wife and I lived in Barcelona. The summer of 1981 was hot and humid, and Sandy and I walked for miles every day, exploring our new city. The combination of heat, humidity, and the friction of clothes on those long walks caused me to get my first heat rash in the groin, which became quite painful. Fortunately, a pharmacist was able to give me an anti-fungal cream that took care of it. I had to use it periodically the rest of the time we were there. The problem was that, under those conditions of heat, humidity, and friction, my body was not sufficiently aerated,

It's ironic, but Barcelona is now one of the few cities in the world where you can simply walk around naked, anywhere. But it wasn't that way then. There were a few nude beaches in Sitges, about an hour away by train. All of us, women and men, could be topless on any beach, but you had to be covered up "down there." Actually, I was once shirtless in a park, and was told by a policeman to cover up. A lot of personal liberty came with the EU, and I hope they don't lose that.

Sandy and I have lived in many places. One of them, where we lived for six years, was Uruguay. It's a small country (3.4 million population), secular, and tolerant. You can't walk around Montevideo naked (so far as I know--I've never tried), but the country does have two legal nude beaches and a few informal ones. Our beach house was about a mile and a half away from one of the legal naturist beaches. By law, women can be topless on any beach in Uruguay, but few do. Why? The usual reason: social attitudes have to catch up with permissive laws.

At present, Sandy and I are living in the naturist capital of the USA, Pasco County, Florida. But that doesn't mean I can walk around naked on public streets. It's not a matter of laws (where we live there are clothing-optional neighborhoods, we just don't happen to live in one of them) but, again, it's about social attitudes. Non-sexual nudity must be normalized for it to become accepted. We have a lot of work to do to achieve that.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of nudity and body acceptance right here at home. It's a matter of human welfare (in this case my own) and human rights.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.

Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew - Pointed Text, Chapter 1

For those (such as myself) who find it difficult to read unpointed Hebrew, I am adding the points to the text of Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew. I am sure that there are errors, for which I take full responsibility, and corrections will be very welcome. Here is Chapter One.

פֶּרֶק רִאשׁוֹן

אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת יֵשׁ“וּ בֶּן דָוִד בֶּן אַבְרָהָם׃ 1

 אַבְרָהָם הֹלִיד אֶת יִצְחָק וְיִצְחָק הוֹלִיד אֶת יַעֲקֹב 2

יַעֲקֹב הוֹלִיד אֶת יְהוּדָה ואֶחָיו׃

יְהוּדָה הוֹלִיד אֶת פֶּרֶץ וְזֶרַח מִתָּמָר  פֶרֶץ הוֹלִיד אֶת חֶצְרוֹן חֶצְרוֹן הוֹלִיד אֶת רָם 3

וְרָם הוֹלִיד אֶת עַמִּינָדָב וְעַמִּינָדָב הוֹלִיד אֶת נַחְשׁוֹן נַחְשׁוֹן הוֹלִיד אֶת שַׂלְמוֹן׃ 4

שַׂלְמוֹן הוֹלִיד אֶת בֹּעַז מֵרָחָב הַזוֹנָה בֹּעַז הוֹלִיד אֶת עוֹבֵד מֵרוּת וְעוֹבֵד הוֹלִיד אֶת

          יִשָׁי׃ 5

יִשַׁי הוֹלִיד אֶת דָּוִד דָוִד הוֹלִיד אֶת אֵשֶׁת שְׁלֹמֹה מֵאֵשֶׁת אוּרִיָּה׃ 6

שְׁלֹמֹה הוֹלִיד אֶת רְחַבְעָם רְחַבְעָם הוֹלִיד אֶת אֲבִיָה אֲבִיָה הוֹלִיד אֶת אָסָא׃ 7

אָסָא הוֹלִיד אֶת יְהוֹשָׁפָט יְהוֹשָׁפָט הוֹלִיד אֶת יוֹרָם יוֹרָם הוֹלִיד אֶת עוּזִּיָה׃ 8

עוּזִּיָה הוֹלִיד אֶת חִזְקִיָה׃ 9

חִזְקִיָה הוֹלִיד אֶת מְנשֶּׁה מְנַשֶּׁה הוֹלִיד אֶת אָמוֹן אָמוֹן הוֹלִיד אֶת יֹאשִׁיָּה׃ 10

יֹאשִׁיָּה הוֹלִיד אֶת יְכָנְיָה וְאֶחָיו בְגָלוּת בָּבֶל׃ 11

יְכָנְיָה הוֹלִיד אֶת שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל הוֹלִיד אֶת זְרוּבָּבֶל׃ 12

זְרוּבָּבֶל זְרוּבָּבֶל הוֹלִיד אֶת אֲבִיהוּד וַאֲבִיהוּד הוֹלִיד אֶת׃ 13

אָקִים וְאָקִם הוֹלִיד אֶת אֱלִיהוּד׃ 14

וֶאֱלִיהוּד הוֹלִיד אֶת אֶלְעָזָר וְאֶלְעָזָר הוֹלִיד אֶת מַתָּן וּמַתָּן הוֹלִיד אֶת יַעֲקֹב׃ 15

וְיַעֲקֹב הוֹלִיד אֶת יוֹסֵף הוּא יוֹסֵף אִישׁ מִר“יָם הַנִקְרָא מָשִׁיחַ ובלעז קְרִיסְ“טוּס׃ 16

ײײוְכָל תּוֹלְדוֹת מֵאַבְרָהָם עַד דּוִד תּוֹלְדוֹת י“ד וּמֵדָוִד עַד גָלוּת בָּבֶל תּוֹלְדוֹת י“ד וּמֵגָלוּת בָּבֶל עַד יֵשׁ“וּ תּוֹלְדוֹת י“ד׃ 17 

וְלֵידֶת מִיֵשׁ“וּ הָיָה בְּזֶה הַאוֹפֶןײײ וְיְהִי כָאָשֶׁר הָיָתָה אִמוֹ אֹרוּסָה לְיוֹסֵף קוֹדֶם שְׁיָדַע אוֹתָה נִמְצֵאת מְעוּבֶּרֶת מֵרוּחַ הַקֹדֶשׁ׃ 18

וְיוֹסֵף אִשׁ צַדִּיק הָיָה וְלֹא רָצָה לִיֹשֶׁב עִמָה וְלֹא לְגִלּוֹתָּה לְהֵבִיאה לְבּוּשָׁה וְלֹא לְאוֹסְרָה לְמוֹת אֲבָל הָיָה רוֹצָה לְכסָות עלִיה׃ 19

וּבְחָשַׁבוֹ בְזֶה הַדָּבָר בְלֵבוֹ וְהִנֵּה מַלְאַךְ נִרְאָה אֵלָיו בַחֲלוֹם וָאַמַר יוֹסֵף בֶנ דָּוִד אַל תִירָא לָקַחת אִשָּׁתֶךָ מִרְ“יָם שְמֵרוּחַ הַקָדוֹשׁ הִיא מְעוּבֶּרֶת׃ 20

וְתֹלֶד בֵן וְתִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יֵשוּ“עַ כִי הוּא יוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת עַמִי מֵעֲוֹנוֹתֵם׃ 21

כָל זֶה לְגמור מַה שְנִכְתָב מֵאֶת הַנָּבִיא עַל פֶּי ה“׃ 22

הִנֵה הָעַלְמְה הָרָה וְתָלָד בֵן וְקָרְאת שְׁמוֹ עִמָנוּאֵל שְר“ל עִמָנוּ אֵלֹקִים׃ 23

וַיִקַץ יוֹסֵף מִשְּׁנָתוֹ וַיַעַשׂ כַּכָּל אֲשֶׁר צִוָה אוֹתוֹ מַלְאַךְ הַ“ם וַיִקַּח אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ׃ 24

וְלֹא יְדָעָ אוֹתָּה עַד שְיָלְדָה בֵנָה הַבְּכוֹרָ וַיִקְרָא אֶת שְׁמוֹ יֵשׁוּ“ע׃ 25

End of Chapter 1

My Father in Me

My father would never have done
the things I do.
He would never have been
a poet,
or a naturist.
He had body-shame
and ethnic shame,
and prejudices
that I'll never know.
He didn't understand me,
nor I him.
Born in different worlds,
we spoke the same language
by historical accident.
I see the genes at work,
as I saw him at work,
as I see myself at work,
every day.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C, Jacobson Traxler.

Skullcap / כיפה

The old man wore a skullcap
as he silently worked
with plant essences
for healing many.
He wore flowing robes
of another time.

Those who went before
will show the way,
for they are yet here.

They are yet here,
faithful through many lives.


הזקן חבש כיפה
כשהוא עבד בשקט
עם תמציות צמחיות
לריפוי רבים.
הוא לבש גלימות זורמות
של פעם אחרת.

אלה שהלכו לפני כן
יראה את הדרך,
כי הם עדיין כאן.

הם עדיין כאן,
נאמנים לאורך חיים רבים.

Text © 2019 by Donald C, Jacobson Traxler.