Wind howls against the window Swirling sheets of rain slice the air It is cold outside, bitterly so A hibernating city, shrouded in darkness Inside it is warm Light, silent Inside I am dry Content, awake But the windows of my soul are wet just the same Time stands still Steady is my hand Time…

A blank paper A ready pen A steady hand An open mind A broken heart Wrapped as one in The gentle stillness before Sunrise Silent melodies Endless opportunity Echo in the corridors of Spaces not yet Formed All is still All is ready “Ana zamin l’m’hevi” Ready to become.

A poetic tribute to the 20,000 victims of the Danube River massacre of December 1944 – January 1945. Yehi zichram baruch. Hashem yinkom damam. They leave their shoes At the River Danube And the gates of an Altar called Auschwitz The Chazzan’s Voice It echoes Along the banks Of a raging river It sings softly,…

We can never stop mourning That which we never truly lost The end of the destruction – The beginning of the rebuilding A two-thousand-year process Of pain and prosperity Mortar-mixing, bricklaying, interior designing Work-related injuries Freak accidents Casualties Menorah made out of Blown-out candles Mizbeach made out of Six Million sacrifices Building the spiritual structure…

Wall of candles Wall of warmth A strong scent of melting wax fills the corridor Readying to enter the silent chamber of prayer and tears Hopeful Alone A single candle flickers I knock I enter The tears flow A year later Shattered halves reunited Blissful Thankful Dry bones brought to life I return to this…

Down the boulevard of history he walks The Eternal Jew Stepping upon the The pavement of potential Frozen between Ayin and Yeish A blank book Awaiting a story to settle In the comfort of its pages like a young family in an old empty house bringing joy and life to its cold, silent walls Down…

Dancing around the fire, heart aflame, my soul has wings I leap and twist, The very earth rises along with me to greater heights. The heavens are open angels peer through the crack Jostling for a better view Vying for a chance to catch a glimpse of this circle of broken souls, Made whole by…

The Voice booms once more From without Urgent, shrill, Thin Within Too terrifying to hear Too beautiful to shut away “AYEKA?” “Where are you?” Where am I? I don’t know. Lost! Lost among the broken shards of my shattered dreams Spinning still, forever In the endless space of my memory I wander among them, Embracing…

It was inevitable, really Only a matter of time before those words Peeked gingerly from behind someone’s wry smile and Jumped eagerly out At my indignant ears. Yup, there they were Hanging Stinging “Welcome back to reality.” Welcome back to reality. As if the past four years spent studying Torah In the Land of our…