,שָׁלוֹם חֲבֵרִים
,מִזְּמַן לֹא הִתְרַאֵינוּ
,קָשֶׁה כָּכָה
.אֲנִי לֹא בְּעִנְיָן שֶׁל מַצֵּבוֹת
,מִדֵּי פַּעַם יוֹצֵא לִי לְדַבֶּר אִתְּךָ
,אוֹ אִתְּךָ
.אוֹ אִתְּךָ
,אַף פַּעַם לֹא בַּיַּחַד
.וְתָמִיד בְּזְּמַנִּים לֹא מְתֻכְנָנִים
,שָׁלוֹם חֲבֵרִים
,עָבַר הָמוֹן זְמַן מֵאָז שֶׁהִתְרַאֵינוּ
.שָׁנִים, יוֹבְלוֹת, חַיִּים שְׁלֵּמִּים
,קָרוּ מִלְיוֹן דְּבָרִים מֵאָז
,לִמּוּדִים, מִשְׁפָּחָה, קַרְיֵירָה
.דְּבָרִים שֶׁל מְבֻגָּרִים
,אַתֶּם נִשְׁאַרְתֶּם אָז
,בְּנֵי עֶשְׂרִים וּמַשֶּׁהוּ
.אוֹ אֲפִלּוּ לֹא כִּמְעַט
,שָׁלוֹם חֲבֵרִים
.חַיִּים שְׁלֵּמִּים חָלְפוּ מֵאָז הַתִּיכוֹן וְהַצָּבָא
.הַיּוֹם הוּא יוֹם שֶׁבּוֹ זוֹכְרִים אֶת כֻּלָּם בְּבַת אַחַת
,קָשֶׁה, כִּי אָז כֻּלָּם שָׁם
,וְרוֹעֵשׁ וְעָמוּס וּמֵעִיק
.וְאֵין אֶת הָאִינְטִימִיוּת שֶׁבְּשִׂיחָה שְׁקֵטָה וְאַקְרָאִית
.בִּכְלָל, בָּתֵּי קְּבָרוֹת הֵם לֹא מָקוֹם בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה
,עָדִיף אוּלַי לְהַמְתִּין כַּמָּה יָמִים
.לְשׁוֹךְ הַטְּקָסִים וְכַתָּבוֹת הַזִיכָּרוֹן
,נַמְשִׁיךְ לְשׂוֹחֵחַ אָז
.חֲבֵרִים
Hello friends,
We haven’t seen each other for some time,
It’s tough this way,
I am not really into gravestones.
From time to time I get to talk with you,
Or with you,
Or with you,
Never at the same time,
And always at unplanned times.
Hello friends,
We haven’t seen each other for a long time,
Years, jubilees, a whole lifetime,
A million things had happened since,
Studies, family, career
Adult things.
You remained then,
Twenty-something old,
Or not even that.
Hello friends,
A lifetime had passed since high school and the army service,
Today is a day we remember everyone at once.
It’s difficult because everyone is there,
And it’s loud and busy and onerous,
And there isn’t the intimacy of a quiet random conversation.
Anyway, cemeteries are not a place for that.
Perhaps it’s better to wait a few days,
For the cessation of the ceremonies and memorial editorials,
We shall continue to talk then,
Friends.
Night had draped its gloomy cast,
Over hill and meadow,
Two hundred sheep stand still,
Their shadows murky pools in the dark grass.
Shepherd dogs lay to the side,
Their ears perked for the night clatters,
Eyes closed,
The soft wind swirls over distant scents,
To their wet snouts
Bleats are produced and returned,
As the herd graze in laud silence,
Bats take sharp turns over head,
Chasing elusive mosquito clouds,
Swarming in the rising warm breath.
First call for help is heard beyond the distance,
Heads turn in the direction of the farm fence,
Jaws move in constant ruminant,
No hoof is lifted for a run.
More calls arrive, repeated,
People in their beds, lay waiting for a count,
Eyes closed, or staring at the ceiling,
The fence remains unchallenged,
The world remains awake.
My first trip back through time took place on early Monday,
Just as I awoke from slumber deep,
Strolled into the bathroom for some water,
When I sensed an urge so deep to sneeze.
The oddest charge came rushing through my body,
Sensation I had never known before,
The ringer in my nose turned quite alarming,
I sneezed, and found myself in Harvard square.
The time looked like a day from middle sixties,
Given by the way the crowd was dressed,
Dr. King spoke from behind the podium,
People cheered at front, I sneezed again.
In my bathroom, staring at the mirror,
Confusion with reality mixed to match,
Did I wake, or was I still a dreaming?
As I pondered that I sneezed again.
Band rehearsal, high school banners hanging,
Mr. Young directs with confident hand,
I stood there at the center of horn section,
The music stopped at once, I sneeze again.
What to do? I washed my face with water,
This time voyage was getting out of hand,
All I had on was a pair of boxers,
Brushed my teeth, got ready, no, too late.
Silent meadow, farmhouse, barn, horizon,
Piston engine sound behind the trees,
Bi-plan soared above into the heavens,
Gunshot, whizz, I’d better sneeze again.
In the shower, wash in steaming water,
Just can’t sneeze, no way, no way, no how,
Should I call my doc or physics professor?
Dried myself and dressed for any chance.
Dialed the school, ”Is Doctor Karnes available?”
Told my day in brief, he laughed so hard,
Maybe I should come to sneeze in tandem,
Doctor laughed, “Sure, let’s give that a chance.”
In his office, “Sure you’re sane, not crazy?”
Silence, stood together by his desk,
“I have class to teach in twenty minutes”
A sneeze was growing within, I grabbed his hand.
In an instant, we are in some forest,
Pawpawsaurus growled right to our left,
Doctor Karnes retreated to the bushes,
“NO!” I yelled for him and sneezed again.
Back at Doctor’s office, I stood silent,
What was I to do? My heart sank low,
Secret held, I walked out of the building,
Better go and get some nasal drops.
Click right here to raise your voices,
Make a motion, to be heard,
Share among your friends and loved ones,
Make a dent and void despair.
Watch this movie to its ending,
It is sure to change your life,
Millions already took notice,
Tyrants sent their way demise.
Read this book or click to follow,
Spirit raised and continuance moved,
Read this quote for bred awareness,
Soul food served a mass the world.
Cyber sphere and global access,
Village spans the earth around,
From the comfort of your armchair,
New world order for mankind.
It appeared at me one day, no prior hint or decent warning,
And introduced itself with no formalities or manners, just a shock,
It rested in my chest, taking comfort in my softness,
Held to be discovered, to be dealt with, once exposed.
I had no sense you were here, I told it with words silent,
How long have you been hiding here, alone?
I knew it from that foremost dreadful moment,
My day, my week, my life had turned to stone.
The confirmation at the clinic was relieving in a way,
Plans of treatment, course of action, elements of care,
Futility continues to be fleeting, day to day,
Time to paddle hard away despair.
War follows me around the world,
Its footsteps heavy at my door,
It seeps inside my soul through electronic capillaries,
Like scents from distant fields carried by a whispering wind.
News reports slap me like shrapnel to a wall,
They glare on small screens with dramatic energy,
Chasing one after the other in endless quest for recognition,
Title bars and news crawlers attempt to sort out the blaring mayhem,
On the phone, a local news reporter, “I’d like to get your feeling on the conflict overseas,”
My thorough answer on camera is compressed into a one line bit on the segment,
Now I too am a single note in the cacophony,
Every channel, all the time, the blood is spilled,
We’ll be right back after this message.
Missus Robert Smith is that no longer,
Divorce came through this morning via mail,
She held the declaration, shaky fingers,
First smiled, but then her eyes began to well.
Friends and family, neighbor’s kids and colleagues,
Many people know her by that name,
Missus Robert Smith she is no longer,
Oddly, she feels naked by that change.
No one called her Jenny for some ages,
The missus was her name for quite some time,
Twenty-seven years they have been married,
Now a piece of paper says it’s done.
Jenny, she says softly, in a whisper,
Name she used to love to be called by,
Cradled it in memory, like a secret,
Now she claims it back into her life.
Jenny Ogden, Jenny, hi miss Ogden,
Sounds familiar, yet it feels so strange,
Change takes time, that she knows for certain,
She lets the paper slowly from her hands.
Simon’s mother passed on Tuesday morning,
The news came by as I was visiting my parent’s home,
I haven’t seen Simon since the last day of high school,
A week after graduation, twelve years ago, we were both gone.
For the funeral, I wore my dark gray jacket,
On the church’s steps, I met Guy Mendelsohn,
He still lives in town, three blocks from his parents,
And drives deliveries for Westbrook and sons.
Simon sat in the front row, left of center,
With his sister, her husband, and their child,
They did not look back at us arriving,
We sat in a middle pew, all the way to the side.
Guy said she died from too much smoking,
Emphysema took her slowly at the end,
I don’t remember much of her from childhood,
Except for her constant cigarette in hand.
The ceremony was quite somber, very quiet,
Simon took the altar and spoke briefly,
He told of his mother’s life and all her habits,
The daytime soaps and cooking were her thing.
A line of cars continued to Green Acres,
It used to be way out there, but no more,
The place is now surrounded by the city,
A new mall had just opened right next door.
The reception took us back to church’s basement,
Egg salad, tuna sandwiches, and slaw,
I joined Guy and two strangers at a table,
The small talk wasn’t going well at all.
Simon came to thank us a while later,
He was surprised to see me there at first,
“I happened to be visiting my parents”,
He smiled, “Give your mom and dad my best”.
Guy jumped in and asked him about Jenny,
They used to be a couple, that I knew,
“Not for quite some time now”, answered Simon,
“She went back to Chicago, studying law.”
The friendship that we once shared is no longer,
I tried to tell them both about my life,
It felt like talking weather with a stranger,
I said “It’s good to see you both. I’ll see you soon.”
Simon turned to talk to other people,
Lunch was winding down, I turned to leave,
Guy got up and wished me “See you later”,
My hands were in my pockets with the car keys.
Dinner, later, seated at my parents,
Sharing how my day went, how was theirs,
Dad had finished planting some tomatoes,
Veeromas will be ready for next spring.
Late last night I had two story ideas,
They just came clear to me in my sleep,
The subconscious mind open wide, ready and deep,
Scanning thoughts, taking notes, writing scripts.
My two stories were great, I knew right away,
I’d forget them by daybreak for sure,
So I picked up my phone from the side of the bed,
Pressed record, spoke them out in a blur.
My phone is a nice tool, an able device,
A know-all do-all enterprise,
Will direct you around town, play music and chess,
Make phone calls, take pictures, so nice.
Come morning I rose from my sleep, ready set,
I reached for the nightstand beside,
It was then that my morning regret realized,
My dream phone was a virtual device.
I am disappointed, my stories are bust,
They may reappear, that’s my hope,
For that night of good fortune, I’m ready and set,
I’ll use pencil and paper for notes.
I’m underwater,