spiritual growth – i used to be preoccupied with it
maybe i still am, fixated on flaws
all the ways i fall short of a standard
even saint francis couldn’t meet
on the streets, i’m incited by insights
from preachers who peddle notions
of salvation & give me holy books
i peruse by glow of lava lamps
in the comfort of compounds
where i keep my secrets
& share my miseries
(Photo by Mark Fletcher-Brown on Unsplash)
The year 2020 has been a strange year, and so has the Jewish year of 5780.
As the sun sets tonight, we hope and pray for a better year.
What will 5781 bring us? Do we dare to dream of health and happiness?
Or shall we begin to brace ourselves for a long, hard winter?
It is our hope which will sustain us, and we pray for a better year.
5781 brings us hope, and another step closer to coming back together.
I’m always reading heavy and serious books like Kafka, the classics, or dystopian science fiction. So I decided recently to read something a little more light-hearted for a change of pace.
The book I picked up was from Rachel’s shelf – The Golem and the Jinni, a 2013 debut novel from Helene Wecker. The novel still has some serious themes, but it wasn’t the type of angsty existentialism I usually dig into.
Continue readingOne look into Medusa’s eyes, you turn to stone
as Perseus knows – but the demigod is brave
he must save his princess
there’s no getting in his way
deep in the Underworld, toss a gold coin to
cross the awful river
Medusa slinks + slithers in her temple
‘till he slices off her head
uses it to kill the Kraken –
oh! how the gods play games with us
atop Olympus
one day they’ll pay for this
when they’re gone, forgotten
when we move to monotheism +
Zeus, Poseidon, the rest are studied
instead of worshipped.
(Photo from themarysue.com)
Note: I was inspired to write this poem after watching the movie Clash of the Titans – both the original 1981 version and the remake from 2010.
I knew nothing of Shabbat before you
or the prayers we say on Friday nights
as we break off pieces of challah + let the candle
burn all night by the window –
I’m happy you’ve taught me, it’s brought me
a new ritual in this life, the life we share together.
(Photo source: shutterstock.com)
We say grace before meals, give thanks to God
for food in the fridge + what’s set before us
knowing not everyone is as fortunate +
there are some, right here in this city,
who are starving + scraping by –
God, thank you for our daily bread +
nourish those not at our table.
(Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash)
I was a mess in college.
Two years before I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I was enrolled at a university in New York with somewhat of a life trajectory, a moral compass, and many good qualities.
Continue readingWe can soldier through these dark hours if we hold on to faith + meaning –
the government tweeted antisemitism last night, the paranoia set in
we covered the webcam, spoke in whispers
debated if it was intentional
I thought of Viktor Frankl + man’s search for meaning –
humans can exact great suffering on each other,
but they can never take our souls.
(Photo by Diego PH on Unsplash)
I have a (slight) problem with going on book-buying binges. When I feel anxious, sometimes I buy a book. I’ve reined in this annoying tendency recently to cut expenses. But when the pandemic hit in early March, I saw an essay about Albert Camus’ novel, The Plague, and knew I immediately had to read it.
Continue readingThe Feel Of Arts
Tumse Na Ho Payega
The best of the literary web
Stories, thoughts and musings
Stories, thoughts and musings
(Somewhat) Daily News from the World of Literary Nonfiction
Stories, thoughts and musings
Neuroscience News provides research news for neuroscience, neurology, psychology, AI, brain science, mental health, robotics and cognitive sciences.
Writer of children's literature, short stories and poetry
Experiments in Creative Writing, and more ....
