A Moment With the Torah

I grabbed hold of the Torah and hugged it close,
My head going into it's cover and pressing against it
With eyes closed and in a moment before we began to sing
I felt my soul travel off to be with Him
Enraptured and enfolded by His Almighty presence
For an instant all cares and worries faded
I thought to myself this must be what it is like
To pass from this world to the next
No thought of responsibility, toil,
Nor the weight of this life and others
Just a short time of peace in the warmth
Comfort and shadow of His presence
Knowing the Sabbath rest, but more than this
To be all enveloped in stillness without desire
No intent did take me there, nor did it bring me back
But rather it was the sound of our voices
Canting the words of the Torah processional
Down from Sinai Moses descends with
G-d's holy word in his hands
It was an auspicious time
A time when G-d's voice could be discerned in dreams
Not a voice of anger toward Pharaoh 
But one of love and correction
Not unlike a Dickens narrative
So that we might know for ourselves
Beyond mere trust, but rather by experience
King Davids words of Psalm 23.

Winter Night

I love the winter night
The cold dark so stark and bright
No one out, none in site
Walk on for miles in silent sight

So peaceful is the fair
Midnight cleansing air
That washes over me
As my dog and I pass there

Stunning the resplendence
Of its pristine clarity
Like a mountain stream falling
Making soft the mind's horizon

Gently flowing
Carrying us along
While others sleep well
And some sleep long

All of us wrapped up together
In the watchful starry blanket
A sea of Van Gogh's souls
Touching the texture of innocence

Like a one who takes my hand
Calms that which tries to comprehend
The unending unseen extending out
Beyond the steps I make

On to the unspoken blowing whispers
O'r white snow and black Terran lake
So refreshing to this ethereal kite
I love the quiet winter night

A Kind of Purgatory

When the travelers' sleep began to thaw
The shadows had not yet gone to rest
A moment in the wall of cold, then harnesses buckled
Once again the iron gate called out its ancient sound
Beyond the colonnade and gardens two sprites shown
A lone sentry watched as we entered his regard
Marking our departure from the place of dreams
A coyote, that crooked shade, paused, then flew across the way
Opening the unseen lock to let our vessel pass
His bushy pale grey tail flagged us onward
Out and into the main channel's current,
Between the mouth of the railroad's black underbrush
And the opposing forest of cobalt house shrubbery
We passed by as if in a soap bubble
Black shadows danced about on the corner
As if driven by an oven's pungent breath
Like black flames in some kind of purgatory
There in the tender wisps of white morning mists
Dangling like bait on unseen strings
Until the great metal Leviathan
Came down hard and fast with a wail and snort
To swallow everyone his soul and future
Carrying them off like Jonahs to Ninevah
Where had they gone, to whom would they prophesy
My head turned round, my little one was left behind
To bath at sun up in cheery water polo soup
I drifted on to hazey blinding skys at high speeds
Coughed out and delivered on the doorstep
Picking up where I left off
Stepping into the clock of the dream breaker
Slowly coming round to florescent lights
And the warm smell of strong coffee
Pouring through my mind