Eclipse at Midnight -Resurgence at Dawn

Eclipse at Midnight - Resurgence at Dawn

4/16/14   12:40 am

Gently the earth's shadow shrouded you

Bleeding red at midnight, held in loving

Arms of a million stars shining brighter

In compassion, healing your wounds

'Hello,' came a call from a woman standing tall,

Jumping out of bed, peeking through the window

I saw a golden ball shining happily and glowing,  

Over Maureen's roof top across the street

'Hello' came a silent cry from my happy eyes

You twinkled a gentle smile

All around was shining bright

Although the Sun has yet to rise....

5:40 am

WALLS, Walls, walls

WALLS, Walls, walls

Once there were walls of Jericho

They tumbled, we are told.

Now the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem,

An ancient relic of the Temple Mount

Is a holy place to pray, sing, dance, and celebrate.

Long ago stood the Temple, built and destroyed twice,

Around the rock where Abraham

Brought his son to sacrifice.

The cracks in the Wall hold innumerable prayers

Of people world over

Except of those on the other side of the Wall.

Where stands in all its splendor

The Dome of the Rock

Shining in its golden glory, visible miles around,

Where Muhammad ascended into high heaven

To greet God and His holy messengers.

Today there are new walls, 10' high, 400 miles long

Searing the hearts, homes, lives   

Of people in this Holy Land

Walls of Peace and protection, the rulers name them.

Others call them Walls of apartheid

Of illegal occupation.

My heart thumps: How can victim race

Of the Holocaust

Become the creator of walls of hate

In the land they come to share?

   

Will these new walls of hatred ever tumble

Like Walls of Jericho?

"Walls make good neighbors," a poet once said.

Do they? Tears in my eyes wonder...

At Yad Vashem

At Yad Vashem

[Memory of Names - The Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem] 

Cruelty and compassion

Are concretized at Yad Vashem

The holocaust snatched the living joy

The compassionate too swirled

In agonizing infliction

Of the mad man's craze

Of racial purity, psychic complexes,

Snare of sanctifying abusive killing of innocence

He borrowed a sacred Hindu symbol

With its ancient name

Swastika, a benedictory image,

Defiling it with his demonic rage

Mesmerizing people by his oratory

Blinding the wise and the fool

Engaging them in his wily ways, words of hatred

They could not see

Though their eyes were open---

It was hard to breathe

In those triangular halls

A remarkable architecture to concretize

Pain and hatred

With its skeletal doors, pointed daggers

Piercing our  consciousness

Sadness numbed the tongue

Even  tears refused to roll

At the sight of

Sheer spectacle of heinous inhumanity

Silent screams seared through our hearts

We walked out mute

Shocked,

Revisiting yet another chapter

Of human loss of dignity, honor and life!

------------------------
In Children's Museum

I could not hear a child's scream

A woman's anguished roar

Million thundering cries.

In silence we walked

Through a mirrored hall of lights

Names remembered

Of silenced voices.

In Jerusalem

Usually my travel notes are a sort of short hand -- sentences sans verbs -- quick experiential snippets in poetic prose... Here are two such 'notations' that descended on me in Jerusalem. 

In the Mist of History

Listless I tread this land

Now called the Middle East

The crossroads of cultures

The cradle of civilization, now a crucible of conflict

Every stone here carries memories of

Eons of time, glorious and bleak

The ancients fought against

Forces of Nature, of desert's dust.

To survive and flourish

They carved through sandstone and limestone

Sought water, built aqueducts, roads,

Enlivened the Dead Sea.

With dreams and faith they carved

Holy places of worship,

Castles, palaces, and towns

Romans came, saw and conquered.

Energy exuding from the sand

Becomes swords of survival

Olives oil their hearts, minds, bodies

Enhancing their treasures, and, alas, turmoil.

Millennia of marvels slide

Intertwining trade, technology, and terror

Arts, architecture and faiths crisscross

Leaving a trail of blood and tears

Hope of redemption brings

A song of love and mercy, a cry for brotherhood

Trust in just, compassionate God

In Gethsemane Jesus brooded over life and death 

This Friday evening in Jerusalem

I heard a celebration of the Sabbath

Mingle with church bells

and the Muezin's call for prayer

Children of Abraham

Jews, Christians, and Muslims

All assemble at the same time

Praying for peace...but are confused

Perhaps God too is confused

On this misty, rainy day wondering

Whom not to help...

 --------------------------

  Walking with Jesus on Via Dolorosa

"What are you doing here?" I nearly screamed

Feeling his robe touching my shoulder

As I walked on the path of sorrows,

Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem

Astonished, I stumbled on the cobbled path

He held my hand...

"Once I walked here in agony, remember?"

He whispered with a faint smile

Staring straight into my eyes.

"What do you feel now?"

I asked looking up at the church in front

Where he once fell carrying his cross

"I am in pain, again,"

Spoke his gloomy eyes.

"They glorify you and love you,"

I spoke in their defense

"They built churches on each of your

Fourteen stations to Golgotha.

They worship you like God."

His penetrating look revealed deep anguish,

"They forget my words

Remember another's, Paul's, 

Who never heard me."

The holy Sepulcher was now behind us,

The sun was setting

He sat on a rock, I by his feet,

We stared into each other's eyes

For eternity...it seemed