Soon & Now
on a plane in Tel Aviv, going to Eilat
soon I will be able to see the Negev
soon I will be where Israel, Jordan, and Egypt meet
soon the slope of my nose will be parallel to the clouds
soon beauty will become monotonous
soon the waves will eat the earth.
now the clouds are balloons filled with hot air, lifted by a buoyancy that they don't understand
now the desert looks like a sandbox that hands have pinched mounds into
now someone is handing me the Jerusalem Post in Hebrew
now I am freezing in this conditioned environment. above the desert.
this trip is a collection of notes, prayers, people
a cacophony of sound and lights
a serendipitous meeting of friends
a blazing sun
3 languages, 3 religions, 1 country, 1 Palestine
there is so much I don't understand here because
I don't speak Hebrew
I don't speak Arabic
I don't speak religious
my tongue is not orthodox
my thoughts are not conservative
my actions do not reform
my clothing does not cover my shoulders or knees or hair
my knees do not bend towards Mecca--
I do not belong.
but I was the only one crying in Yad Vashem
but I have more rights as a tourist than some Palestinians
but I AM ChristianMuslimJewishIsraeliArab
WomanManChildAdultJesusMosesMohammed
& I do belong.
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I have "posted a comment" on this and every other of your pieces, but they have never shown up. Apparently you're crazy if you try to do something in the same exact way multiple times while expecting a different result. I'm crazy, and you're crazy-good at writing.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, I don't remember this being so impactful when you read it, so maybe it was "nitrogen narcosis." Maybe you edited it. Either way, this is gold.