What is it I’m missing?
A bathroom door
a windowpane
in the shower room door
a shower curtain rod
the window between my kitchen and the utility porch
a fluorescent bulb
solar panels
a third
of the front veranda slider track
an appendix and two tonsils – an old story
(uterus
check)
(and two breasts)
a caress
the kids
cash
a credit card…
the grille ornament
my antenna
my gas cap
Gedera, Israel 2000
How times have changed! (Have they?) This is a translation of my Hebrew “taking stock” poem for the Jewish New Year, written almost 15 years ago. I dare say that waiting in line to gas up for the holidays is as much of a tradition in Israel as is taking stock. This was the closing poem in my second book of Hebrew poetry entitled תרגילי חיסור [subtraction exercises/problems] and also appears on Nilly Dagan’s fantastic poetry website here: http://www.nillydagan.com/%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A4-%D7%A9-%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94-%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8-7/274-%D7%92-%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%A1-%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95
…be happy to tell you more about this poem/about myself, about the ironies sometime – a certain time/age, a certain status in the aftermath, when kids have first flown the coop, digging for coins to put gas in my Justy, taking stock at the moment when my friendly neighborhood gas station attendant shouts out to me over the din – about what’s missing….
Funny how what we have and what we don’t fluctuates somewhat over the years, no? I now have a shower curtain rod (heads up, my kids), for example – apparently reason enough to celebrate! שנה טובה! Happy New Year and Happy Fall 2014 to all!
a windowpane
in the shower room door
a shower curtain rod
the window between my kitchen and the utility porch
a fluorescent bulb
solar panels
a third
of the front veranda slider track
an appendix and two tonsils – an old story
(uterus
check)
(and two breasts)
a caress
the kids
cash
a credit card…
the grille ornament
my antenna
my gas cap
Gedera, Israel 2000
How times have changed! (Have they?) This is a translation of my Hebrew “taking stock” poem for the Jewish New Year, written almost 15 years ago. I dare say that waiting in line to gas up for the holidays is as much of a tradition in Israel as is taking stock. This was the closing poem in my second book of Hebrew poetry entitled תרגילי חיסור [subtraction exercises/problems] and also appears on Nilly Dagan’s fantastic poetry website here: http://www.nillydagan.com/%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A4-%D7%A9-%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94-%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8-7/274-%D7%92-%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%A1-%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95
…be happy to tell you more about this poem/about myself, about the ironies sometime – a certain time/age, a certain status in the aftermath, when kids have first flown the coop, digging for coins to put gas in my Justy, taking stock at the moment when my friendly neighborhood gas station attendant shouts out to me over the din – about what’s missing….
Funny how what we have and what we don’t fluctuates somewhat over the years, no? I now have a shower curtain rod (heads up, my kids), for example – apparently reason enough to celebrate! שנה טובה! Happy New Year and Happy Fall 2014 to all!
