(I am not a Political Poet
never have been although some of my favorite poets and friends are)
Life is always even for those people who are
astrophysicists life is always very personal even if you a person
who cannot for neurological reasons look someone else in the eye.
Of course love is personal too.
The first time I fell really and truly in love
in a Large Way was when I got off an Egged Bus
( a long time ago)
in the city of Nazareth, unholy holy place
where humanity in all its imperfections lives
on ancient crooked streets and I, so young and
unaccustomed to seeing life right in front of me
in that straightforward way
(we lived in a clean house our neighbors were
inside their well swept houses too)
and suddenly I was in a place
so full of living and the strong scent of life too
cardamom and sweat and myrrh and churches and mosques
and Jews from Georgia and I drank small small cups
of Arabic coffee on a stool too short for my legs right by
the bus stop and because I was young and on my own
and entirely open people would come and sit on stools next
to me and talk and talk and sometimes the women would bring
me cookies or small cakes full of honey and there were even
donkeys on those streets and stores selling plastic and I met
my friend Linda’s ex-uncle in law, a wonderful writer
named Emile Habiby who lived in Nazareth and he said
What Do You Want From Life and I told him that what I
wanted most was to stay right there on that stool, grow old
there actually and spend my days listening to all the people
who would stop by and some day maybe not for many years
but some day I would write everything down.
So beautiful. So right!!!
I love this so much