A Moment With the Torah - with audio

audio link

I grabbed hold of the Torah and hugged it close,
My head going into it's cover
Pressing against the softness of it's velvet
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 outstretched arm
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
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
So that we might know for ourselves
Beyond mere trust,
But rather by experience
King Davids words of Psalm 23.

Winter Night - with audio

audio link

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

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
We continue on

All of us wrapped up together
In the watchful starry blanket
A sea of souls, the Painter's brush strokes
Canvasing the texture of innocence

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

On to the unspoken blowing whispers
Over the white snow and black Terran lake
So refreshing to this ethereal kite
Pure and beautiful, the winter night

Some Kind of Purgatory - with audio

audio link

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 an 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 in our heated 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 a snort
To swallow everyone, his soul and future
Carrying them off like Jonahs to Nineveh
Where had they gone, to whom would they prophesy
My head turned round,
There my little one was left behind
To bathe at sun up in a cheery water polo soup
While I drifted on into the hazy blinding sky at high speeds
Then coughed out and delivered on the doorstep
Picking up where I'd left off and
Stepping into the clock of the dream breaker
I Slowly awakened to glare of florescent lights
With the warm smell of strong coffee
Pouring through my mind