Free
Verse
A Bridge of
Peace
“They shall sit
every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall
make them afraid.”
~The Holy Bible,
Micha, 4,4
“He who walks with peace, walk with him”
~The Koran, Sura 48
My Arab sister, let us build a wonder bridge
from your fig tree and vine to mine
above the boiling pain of the Intefada battle
Salima, my Arab sister, when will we laugh again
like two women, instead of weeping on our sons' stones?
You and me, Salima, my friend, on this wonder bridge
from your culture to mine, from my culture to yours
in the fragrance of blossoming jasmine, holding hands
whispering secrets about our loves, our children, our plans,
and our deepest, deepest yearning for a bright free sky
crowned by twinkling peace stars.
I do not want to be your oppressor,
you do not want to be my oppressor,
or your jailer, or my jailer, we do not want to make each other
afraid
under our vines and under our fig trees blossoming on a silver
horizon
above the bleeding of our children by stones, bullets and
missiles.
So, my Arab sister, let us build a sturdy bridge
of tolerant jasmine understanding, where each shall sit with her
baby
under her vine and under her fig tree
AND NONE SHALL MAKE THEM AFRAID!
Arturo's
Rubenstein
"The power of
Creation seems to favor human beings who love life
unconditionally. And I am certainly one who does..."
~Arturo Rubenstein
Today you
are ninety Arturo,
and you play us your Rubenstein
fingers lovingly enlacing
life's hidden allegro
"Every day is the happiest
one for me,
living an intensive life
is my secret—
I've never met a person
as joyful as me!"
My friends wink and say,
"Perhaps that's because
he's never met you! "
I'm not sure they're right—
then I think of your dazzling smile
my love, suffusing my sky with symphonies
and am filled with—
“Glad to meet you,
dear Mr. Rubenstein!”
Cherry Blossoms
Will Bloom Again in Japan
My dear Japanese
friends
cherry blossoms will soon
bloom again
in Japan
After the cruel
horrific earthquake
followed by the overwhelming savage
tsunami
pouncing on you with its deathly claws
in the midst of your lives—
now comes the nightmare of creeping
radiation
and horrendous deathly plutonium leaks
May it indeed
only be a passing nightmare—
may the ultimate radiation red-light danger
only be a fleeting dark nightmare—
may you wake up my friends to a bright
and healthy new day
full of energy to rebuild
your beautiful world again
Poor wounded
Japan
I want to bandage your wounds
with cherry blossoms
