letter to Bibi
Mr. Netanyahu,
I guess I have a say
as much as I am a Jew
or b/c I have a voice
a heart, am human
it’s not the lives you should want back
not vindication or retribution
not the land, not God’s dispensation
not even safety for your people
but to vouchsafe the inner land
where the soul ship soars
on blue and white wings
so akin to the things I have seen
the handful of times I have been to temple
heard about Tikkun Olam
sang about refuah shlema
tasted my mother’s Pesach cooking
spurned my grandmother’s gentle kisses
find that country
right within, right now
and you’ll know another way
a secret path
it’s certainly not
in leaving more innocents
to bury
Marc Steven Mannheimer
from Poetry Feast