SONG AT THE SEA / SHIRAT HAYAM

A few days late but here's a poem inspired by last week's parsha, Beshallach

I live in Venice now, not far from the canals

I can’t see the ocean; I know it’s near

the light is brilliant

especially after the rain

It has rained a lot these days

I have crossed concrete swamps

I have miracles left inside

the sound from nights long passed

in Palestine

I would have made a fine pioneer

on the threshing floor, under the moon

We have come into being to praise, to labor and to love

I live in Venice now, I walk along canals

I can’t see the hills; the land is low

the sky is misty

Dean Martin swooning in my ear

about the pyramids along the Nile

asking that I let him go

The beach is gray, ever gentle on my mind

Someone’s watching from the lifeguard tower

someone who would do, not want, the best for me

I live in the tropics now, I watch the sun rise

the cockatoo sings loud at dusk

every day is candle-lighting time

I walk past pastel bungalows

the sky is violet and dark soft blue

the palm trees’ green lit up by a cosmic bounce