Poems in Two Voices
Eve and Adam, Upon Their Exile From Eden
When we were banished
I saw the vessels break
into countless fragments.
When I saw the vessels break
I was coated with black and trembled with shock,
and night swallowed me.
Coated with black, trembling in shock,
I tried to lift myself from the ground
but sparks scorched my palms and feet.
I tried to lift myself from the ground
but fallen mountains crushed me
and from deep within, a scream.
Crushed under fallen mountains,
I inched my way between the boulders and rocks,
which, like gargoyles, rose against me.
I inched my way beyond the boulders and rocks,
beyond gargoyles’ lashing tongues
and mustered the strength to stand.
A gargoyle’s tongue becomes a dove’s white wing –
the dove emerges and flies overhead
and its call is clear and loud.
The dove emerges and flies overhead,
and though I limp, I follow it
towards the fuchsia and gold of dawn.
When we were banished
I saw the vessels break
into countless fragments.
When I saw the vessels break
I was coated with black and trembled with shock,
and night swallowed me.
Coated with black, trembling in shock,
I tried to lift myself from the ground
but sparks scorched my palms and feet.
I tried to lift myself from the ground
but fallen mountains crushed me
and from deep within, a scream.
Crushed under fallen mountains,
I inched my way between the boulders and rocks,
which, like gargoyles, rose against me.
I inched my way beyond the boulders and rocks,
beyond gargoyles’ lashing tongues
and mustered the strength to stand.
A gargoyle’s tongue becomes a dove’s white wing –
the dove emerges and flies overhead
and its call is clear and loud.
The dove emerges and flies overhead,
and though I limp, I follow it
towards the fuchsia and gold of dawn.
…and Aaron was silent.
Leviticus 10:3
Elazar and Itamar, Sons of Aaron
Mother, why does Father not talk to us
When we ask how this happened to our brothers?
His lips are a sealed vial;
His shoulders tense;
He turns away
And leaves
To make peace between the sons of Reuben.
The Lord took them, my sons;
I can say nothing more, for your father
remains silent.
Aunt Miriam, why does our father not hear us
When we ask why the Lord took Nadav and Avihu?
His ears are blocked reeds;
His back stiffens;
He turns away
And marches out
To make peace between the sons of Simeon.
They brought Strange Fire, my sons;
I can say no more, for your father
remains silent.
Aunt Zipporah, why does our father not look at us
When we ask about the Strange Fire?
His eyes are locked caskets;
His face tightens;
He turns away
And strides out
To meet Uncle Moses.
I do not know, my sons.
Questions on the Fire rise
as a mountain above all answers and your father,
like the wilderness at night,
cannot but remain silent.
The Rods
Do not think I am a mere stick –
I have awaited Moses since twilight of the Seventh Day.
At God’s will, in Moses’ hand,
outstretched sword-like over the Nile,
I turned satiety to thirst, sustenance to death.
When Aaron cast me to the ground,
at God’s will, I turned into a snake
and like the thin cows that devoured the fat,
swallowed every serpent on the palace floor.
Do not think I am a mere staff –
when Moses grasped me and struck the Sea,
at God’s will, I raised water as walls
taller than pyramids
and created pathways for Israel’s tribes.
When Aaron set me beside the tribes’ staffs,
at God’s will, I no longer was just a piece of wood,
lifeless as a pebble in the wilderness,
but sprouted almond blossom and fruit.
Moses, Moses, do not raise me – Aaron’s flowering rod
that you have guarded in the Tent –
to angrily strike a desert boulder,
for not with strength
and not with might,
but with His breath on your tongue
and words of kindness on your lips
will water flow from the rock.
Michal
Michal, daughter of Saul,
why do you stare blackly at David
whom you love,
whose life you saved?
Michal, daughter of Saul,
why are you silent, so aloof?
Why do you not leave the palace
to lead the women in song?
Michal, daughter of Saul,
why do you place a mountain
blacker than a moonless night
between your love and you?
I look out of the window and stare.
How can the king forget his crown
and hobnob with the crowds?
Do I love him still?
After seeing him jump and leap
how can I not rebuke him?
His antics freeze me.
My heart which scaled mountains for him
has now turned to shell.
