Author Archives: Ophir Palmon

Awake

AwakeHorny cats yowl a cappella,
In a fiery summer night dating ritual.
Heated fights pierce the collective hum,
Of air-condition units,
Struggling to cool down the humid air,
And tempers,
Swirling over the sleepless metropolitan.

Making love is a sticky venture,
For the furred,
And the furless.
Lust driven by hormones,
Gamed by opportunity, determination,
And a good dose of timing and luck.

Electrode fingers, rubbing bodies,
Touching, sensing, probing,
Trying,
Producing sweat, raising temperatures,
Generating fun-static electricity,
Pleasure,
And envy.

Street lights glow through the window shades,
I lay beside you,
Listening to your quiet breathing,
And yowling silently.

 

July 2, 2022

אֲגַם הַשְּׁכוֹל

אֲגַם הַשְּׁכוֹל,כְּמוֹ לַהֲקַת עָגוּרִים עֲצוּמָה
,שֶׁהִתְכַּנְּסָה לָהּ לִשְׁנַת הַלַּיְלָה
,עוֹמְדוֹת לָהֶן לְבָנוֹת וּשְׁקֵטוֹת
,בְּשׁוּרוֹת אֲרֻכּוֹת וּמְסֻדָּרוֹת
,עַד קַו הָאֹפֶק
.לְלֹא קוֹל אוֹ מַשָּׁק כָּנָף, דּוֹמְמוֹת

,מִכָּאן לֹא יַרְחִיקוּ עוֹד נְדוֹד
,לְחוֹפִים כְּחֻלִּים בְּאֲרָצוֹת רְחוֹקוֹת
,לֹא יְחַזְּרוּ אַחַר בְּחִירֵי לִבָּם
,לְהָקִים בַּיִת, לְקַנֵּן כְּזוּג
,לֹא יִדְגְּרוּ יַחַד וְיַדְרִיכוּ גּוֹזָלִים לָעוֹף
,לֹא יַמְשִׁיכוּ תּוּר וְיַזְקִינוּ בְּמוֹרָד הַשָּׁנִים
.כְּדַרְכָּם מִתָּמִיד שֶׁל הַעָגוּרִים

,בְּשָׂדֶה רְחָב יָדַיִים נָחִים הֵם עַכְשָׁיו
.כָּתֵף אֶל כָּתֵף, אַחִים בַּדָּם
,יֵשׁ מֵהֵם שֶׁנָּחֲתוּ כָּאן זֶה מִכְּבָר
,וַאֲחֵרִים שֶׁהִצְטָרְפוּ אַךְ תְמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם
,הַיְישֶׁר מִן הַקְּרָב הָאַחֲרוֹן
.אֲשֶׁר כְּתָמִיד אֵינוֹ כָּזֶה

,אֶל הָאֲגַם מַגִּיעִים מְבַקְּרִים
,עוֹפוֹת מִשְׁפָּחָה, צִפּוֹרֵי חֲבֵרִים
,יוֹשְׁבִים לְצִדָּם, מְסַפְּרִים וְזוֹכְרִים
.אֵרוּעִים, חֲוָיוֹת, כְּשֶׁהָיוּ עוֹד חַיִּים
,מִי הָיָה הוּא הָאִישׁ, מִי הָיְתָה הָאִשָּׁה
.אֵיךְ הָלְכוּ בְּחָטַף, כֹּה קָשָׁה הַתְּחוּשָׁה

,יוֹם קָדוֹשׁ הוּא הַיּוֹם
.מִכָּל שְׁאַר הַיָּמִים
,עוֹד לֹא תַּמוּ קְרָבוֹת
.בֵּין גְּבוּלוֹת וְעַמִּים
,לוֹ יְהִי, מִי יִתֵּן, מַגָּשׁ כֶּסֶף, דָּמִים
,אֵין זֶה תָּם וְנִשְׁלָּם
.כָּךְ חַיֵּינוּ חַיִּים

English Translation
May 3, 2022 ,ב’ אייר, תשפ”ב

Circle of Love

Circle of LoveHome is where love is,
Love is where you feel safe,
Feeling safe helps you become inspired,
Being inspired gives you strength,
Strength saves you from danger,
Inspiring you to expand into new worlds,
Where you can discover strength, safety, and love,
Reinforcing your home.

 

December 6, 2021

Vultures

VulturesThe wind blows in waves of dry leaves,
Yellow dust,
And delicate rumors.

Gusts of courtships,
Whispers of relationships,
Tales of failure and success,
Whisked from mouth to ear by blooming curiosity,
Arrant jealousy,
And sprinkles of fear and worry.

The ventures of preying birds,
Soaring over the prairie,
Diving into circling flocks,
Disturbing their flight,
Staining their feathers,
Upsetting the good order of nature,
Its boundaries and manners,
Drawing chaos and fear.

Riders of confidence thermals,
And kindness gusts.
Robbers of trust and warmth,
Chasers of fantasies and imagination,
Charging onward in a drive to conquest,
Unwilling bodies, resisting souls,
Who seeks nothing but peaceful existence,
But are forced to flee,
To hide,
From the menace.

Quests are made to stop these ravens.
Hints heavy as tree trunks,
Are dropped in their path.
Pleas clear as a blue sky day,
Fade into thin air,
In grand ignorance,
As the cuckoos rush to vanquish,
Their object of desire.

The flock soars up,
Flies in closer formation,
More cautious,
Warily mindful,
Of the skies above.

 

March 30, 2022

Defiance

DefianceLong lines of people,
By car,
And on foot,
Mothers clutching their children to their chests,
Or walking them by the hand.

The older boys had stayed behind,
To fight forces greater than,
A Molotov cocktail, a stone,
Or a gun.

A proud nation stands defiant,
To defeat invading forces.
No time to bury its dead,
Or mourn them.

Large cities crumble under the weight,
Of the bombs and the tanks and the hate.
Morning rises, the war rages on,
Under blue skies and yellow gold pride.

 

March 21, 2022

Mid-Day Poetry

Mid-Day PoetryStomach murmurs jab at the concentrated mind,
The work project is set aside,
Giving way to meal choices,
And food preparations.

Reading through a magazine over a warm plate,
Bright sunlight washes over the table,
Outside, a bone-chilling blue-sky day,
The cat sleeps at his spot on the window sill.

Peaceful silence, only a distant car hum,
Thoughts run wondersome over the kitchen sink,
To the frozen yard outside,
And lost in the cloudless heavens above.

 

January 26, 2022

Dialogue

DialogueWords conveyed,
Sent,
Read,
Replied.

Bearing thoughts,
Wonders,
Worries,
Snapshots of passions.

Expressing hopes,
Fears,
Love,
The gamut of emotions.

Spoken with voice and typed by fingers.
Skating on a surface of emotions that stretches between the horizons of sight and time.
The sun rises and sets.
Seasons turn.
Lives are born and lost.
Expressions continue to flow,
Weaving the fabric of life with depth and meaning,
To form the evolving picture of humanity.

 

January 18, 2022

Artist Unblocked

Artist UnblockedSun rays, traveling through vacant space,
A straight course to the edge of nowhere,
Shining heavenly bodies along their path,
Discovering new directions upon chance reflections.

Some rare, select few penetrate the stifling Earth clouds,
Land softly into the soul,
That had craved them for a spiritual millennium,
Of a creative terra firma.

Hints of words, buds of ideas,
Emerge from the cracked soil,
Grow into a tale, a poem,
That blooms with relief and excitement.

Freedom reclaimed, the impediment dissipates,
Effervescent lightness floats the spirit,
Onto green pastures of fertile imagination,
To be harvested, while the light shines.

 

December 15, 2021

The Week After

The Week AfterThe air stands still in the empty rooms,
Sunlight glistens through the barely opened shades,
The kitchen is organized, borrowed tables and chairs are back at the neighbors,
The house is reclaimed.

Loved ones, family members and friends,
Have packed and gone to their homes,
Yet the mind swirls with memories and thoughts,
Of conversations and emotions that still echo.

Endearing exchanges, sneering words, common family dramas,
Soul munchies to nibble on through the long withdrawal,
With the morning tea, the mid-day walk,
The late-night unwind.

The workweek began and reigns again,
Early morning meetings, late-night emails,
Short meal breaks and quick exchanges of friendly texts,
Small tokens of a familiar routine.

The emotional storm that rocked the insides,
Gave way to calm, cold, winter days,
The tea kettle is boiling, another glance at the sunny yard,
Thanksgiving is over, for at least another year.

 

December 9, 2021

Kaleidoscope

We met for a warm lunch on a chilly day,
The autumn leaves had left behind naked trees,
A see-through scenery for the New England winter.
She removed her heavy wool coat,
To reveal a blue blouse, her signature color.
We ordered Kale salad, dressing on the side,
And dove into the recent past,
Which got extended by global events.
Time can be thinner than fine sand.
People and events, memories and hopes,
Tossed into an emotional salad, dressing included.
Hair-raising, leg-shaking, tear-jerking,
Wrangled with verbal forks and chewed slowly,
Savoring the surprising tastes and exotic spices,
The kind that dries the mouth and wets the soul.
Yes, I’ll have more water, please. Thank you.
A flowing conversation,
No music or other interruptions,
To borrow us, invite us, stop us,
From this extended moment we share.
One we succeeded in creating, here, today,
By sheer interest, will, and trust.
The stories are heavy, the questions heavier,
They hang in the air around us,
Like an abstruse art installation at a gallery,
That is never open to the public.
A past that directs a future, but not always,
Plans we want to make, changes to apply,
To secure the journey for a steady sail onward,
For us and for them, without anyone knowing.
It can be done. It will be.
The abstract installation moves slowly,
Caressed by caring thoughts,
Changes shape and colors.
The answers shall reveal themselves,
In bright, beautiful shades of blue.

 

November 23, 2021