Thursday, September 30, 2010

Men In Black

Men in black around
I know they watch my motions
When will this all end?

In big cars they drive
Members of a special club
Where are they going?

He is our hero
We all know "he is coming."
Soon, you all will see

I say "I am he."
I cannot say, "I am not."
But I say "going."

 

composed in 1999

deafening silence

I said I would command God's Finger
And there would not be a sound
And when it came down out of the sky
All I heard was a deafening silence
Just before that
Muhammad arrived
As I said he would
To watch the parade that floated by
A prophesy as bold as any that has been told
And when I bowed toward him
He responded with a deafening silence
Five months later when I put my Dad in his place
As I predicted I would
His irises instantly changed color
Without resorting to a taser
He glared back at me with a deafening silence
When I awoke from the dream
With the dot on my cheek
I remember
My sister in the doorway and her maniacal stare
Her response to my story
Was a deafening silence
Talking about my car at
Coit Tower's lookout
I sensed someone behind me
Rosemary!
The ugly version of Imelda Marcos
A shape-shifter
And a lunatic
Just like my sister
The most disgusting thing on two legs
Was recording me with a Treo phone
Chewing on something with a disdainful glare
When I looked back and mimicked her grimace
She walked off
In a deafening silence
Twice and again in the hallway
The curse showed up
Unannounced
Each time I spoke she was frozen in place
Enveloped in a deafening Silence
You jabbed me in the ribs when I wanted to talk
And looked at me in a deafening silence
Christmas time
A party for the residents
We stared at each other in a deafening silence
“It's nice” you said and
I replied “Good!”
And I awaited your next line
You shook as though your life was about to end
I wondered why in our deafening silence
You found me below the ballerina clown
What could I say?
I had seen you before
I talked about the magnetic attraction of the car
We shook hands
In a deafening silence
I know you tried to cook me alive
When I finally emerged
The cameras caught me accuse with my stare
Your response deafening and silent
I blew you a kiss and you ran past and around
I thought you would say something
Because you are so good with words
But all I heard was a deafening silence
I motioned you over from my balcony
I waited in the coffee shop
So close and yet so far away
Is that all I get?
A Deafening Silence?
God is still talking to us?
Do you know what He said?
Why is it then
When I came to see the solid versions
Of the decade old pictures
You waddled away
Deafening. Silent.
While eating chips and salsa
I thought you looked familiar
You leaned toward me
I think that meant something
But all I could hear
Was a deafening silence
Flash bulbs popping
In the ritzy esplanade
I had to ask someone whom they had seen
You call that an offer?
Was that just a joke?
Without saying a word
I cannot interpret
Your deafening silence
Did you want to say something?
You certainly caught my eye
Anyone can talk to anyone else
In that public place
What your stare meant
I still have no idea
Could someone please translate
The deafening silence?
Call me if you can go
But you made other plans
You had transformed into my wife
Then divorced me the very next day
Of course I got mad
You hardly know me
So I left you there in your deafening silence
Your dog seemed to like me
And you didn't even know about
My history with dogs
You looked so cute
Sitting on the floor
With your unbroken look and deafening silence
More than your brother
More than your buddy
I could tell you get it
As you nodded at me in the deafening silence
It bit me on the thigh
Swelled and deflated
Then ceased to exist
In the Southern twilight
Deafening
Silence
Your words changed by themselves
Words and strokes
Added and removed
But the rest of the world seemed not to notice
They see me
Completely unaware
All their responses are deafening and silent
They took me away without a warning and
Without a greeting
While I slept and was vulnerable
Such cowardice from a superior force
You cannot meet me on an even field?
Why could you not converse with me?
Is that advanced?
You are a deafening silence
You minister to me
Quote what you think I said
To me when, in fact
I came here
To Save
To Minister
To Protect
All of you
Did I prove you right?
Am I proving you wrong?
Heed these words and
Take them to heart
When I read the charges
Present the evidence
Announce the verdict
And prepare to execute your sentence
It would be best
If the only thing that you do
Is to remain
Silent

Riddle Me

Love?
Hope?
Peace?
Do not make me laugh.
I came here to save you.
And save you I already have.
But you destroyed what I preserved.
And turned what I created into trash.
Just a few simple enemies eliminated
Would have gone a long way
With so many examples to look at
How did you miss what was clear?
Did you think I was joking?
Why did you violate all I said was holy?
Why did you think I would tolerate what had to be removed?
What makes you think you can replace and reinvent me?
You think I'm more powerful than God?
Did you think the prophets were wrong?
Did someone have to introduce you to me?
Let me explain it to all of you dunces
Peter Tosh was able to find me
Columbus Meeker, the real Elijah, found me in someone else's house
And when the first code almost signaled the end
Biggie Smalls had made a pilgrimage
To find me in a nick of time
This really all belongs to me
The world of the destructive and ungrateful
Who did you think you would dupe?
Planet Earth shall become radioactive soup!
And we will see who will remain on my side
One hundred two score and four times a thousand
If so many books are right.
But Jesus Krishna, the Messiah, told you the books would change
And they did!
Did you send my check in the mail?
Did you think I came here to chase tail?
I expected to receive what was promised
Is it possible billions can fail?
Look at the man in the mirror as I do
Can you still love me more than your Father?
Do you love me more than your Mother?
Is it possible to love me more than your child?
Don't say yes when the answer is no
I'm sorry, you'll have to go

Professor Higgins

She is the one they call Professor Higgins
Turning knaves into gentlemen is her trick
Her genuine interest will raise the station
Of any pitiful Tom, Harry, or Dick
Her best subject has no roof over his head
Desperate, uneducated, unwashed ones
Are most grateful in her laboratory bed
“She must be insane,” all her neighbors mutter
Every time they notice her getting dressed up
For her Saturday night trip cruising the gutter
The most certain thing she could possibly know
Locate a stray dog that has nowhere to go
Then back to her place for a hot meal and drink
And draw him close to her before they can blink
Most of these students will not exit her door
Sadly that is when they usually bore
Others learn quickly and find their own place
Then Professor Higgins is back to the chase
A promise of wisdom for which they all yearn
She has little to teach is what they all learn

Get To Know Me

My fans are in Heaven
And floating along the curb
You all want a piece of me
And I want peace from you
I inspire those in the halls of power
The ivory tower
And even the bedroom
I am the Lion King
And brother cigarette dispenser
The look of paralyzing venom
The taste of lemonade
The voice of pain
The sound of the concrete jungle
The touch of the divine
The broken heart
I know you
I understand you
But I do not understand your hesitance
To find me
Right next to you
For so many years

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Comedy and Tragedy

Comedy and tragedy have filled our lives this year. 
Which do we remember?
Have we focused on the goodness that brightened?
Or have we become so jaded only the losses matter?
When we kneel together as Jews in our sanctuary 
In reverence and surrender. 
Do we recall the tears of joy? 
Are we conscious of all the disappointments? 
What images come to mind? 
A baby's first cry in the delivery room? 
Emptying a shovelful of earth on a grave? 
Cutting through the thick white icing on the wedding cake? 
The horror of dismembered bodies once again in the Holy Land? 
Oh, Lord! 
Listen to our prayers of gratitude! 
Hear our prayers of request! 
Help us to end our quarrels! 
Give us hope in this moment! 
That we all may be forgiven.

Composed for 2004 High Holy Days Services

Puzzles

Have you ever noticed how children love puzzles?

I think it is because they have an innate curiosity about life.

Some will spend days trying to figure them out.

Others get frustrated and toss them aside.

Life’s great mysteries are like puzzles,except you only get one piece at a time.

 Eventually you get the last piece, put it in place, and the picture becomes clear.

Flying

Like a gentle jester 
I glide through the air
 my only wish is to delight
 the halcyon world below 
then your trace 
burned a bright shadow
 across my route
 the world opens it's arms
 to embrace me
 as I plummet

Composed in 1996.

Lady Constance

She carries herself with the greatest of ease
Right past the tall wreckage fallen by her knees
Watch Heaven's magic when she floats on the breeze
A million men parceled like so many trees

She's the one that's on top, the one with the keys
If you show her your heart expect her to squeeze
Her demeanor is light, so easy to please
Approach her directly and feel your brain freeze

Soaring ever higher without a trapeze
The planet is filled with ladies' jealousies
All poets cull metaphors and similes
Then heave themselves to the bottom of the seas

Birds in the sky are her proper trustees
To get her is beyond male abilities
Thus artful soldiers in all companies
Commit themselves to halls of insanities

The cast of her face is a radiant tease
Of hidden desire no one will appease
Arride wild butterflies and gossamer bees
Only God's angels can see what she sees

Composed in 1996.

Unity


It’s time to return to holiness
God’s earth demands we act accordingly
There is one universal truth
Unity is our greatest strength

God goes by many names
It is always the same God
God who created All
And longs to hear our Call

Composed in 1996.