avakesh

Hope and Fear

When Hope and Fear mix, they explosively mix

They contend and afflict and do not dwell in peace

Each one struggles to gain, to rise over, persist

There's hissing and smoke, there is no peace in this

*

Wrestle, struggle and bind, overpower, survive

Rising waters strike froth against bulwarks of rock

Gather power and noise against quiet divide

Between water and land. They impact, they arrive

*

Then the hope calls its troops and it's boulders expand

Tumbling forward, they heave and sometimes turn Fear back

Crushing waves of despair on the reeds and the sands

*

And sometimes it does not and the Fear then invades

And it shatters the hope and submerges the glades

Oh, the bulwarks of Hope, please fight on, please withstand

by veritas

Malchus

 

Beyond the sky there is a world

I feel but canot see

Beyond appearance and disguise

Beneath the shining sea

*

So many things deflect my gaze

Grace, beauty, want and need

So many scenes, so many ways

Cajole, excite and plead

*

Between dark alleys and bright fields

And steps that fall and rise

There are important books to read

of wonders and surprise

*

But still, beyond the screen there is

Some other, other Thing

That I can't know but can perceive

The Daughter of the King

based on Zohar Mishpatim

Peace of Mind

I would like some day to get Peace of Mind

You know, that feeling that's so hard to find

Without plenty of rest and plenty of sleep

When there are no struggles, and, for sure, no defeats

*

I could be so happy with this Peace of Mind

I would be so pleasant and patient and kind

And never, never become gloomy or sad

I'd treat all men well and smile a lot

*

Perhaps when I retire, I am sure I'll have

The time, healtlh, disposition, honor and love

To pursue all these things that I never had time

That are useful and good, nice and sublime

*

Some day I expect I"ll have Peace of Mind

It's a real good one to get before I die

But right now I'm too busy, with so many things

I must wait for right time, when the troubles cease.

Teshuva

There is withdrawal made of fear

It is accessible and clear

It seems so far but is so near

Easy to ride and light to steer

*

There is repentance wrought of Love

It sounds easy but is tough

It never, never has enough

Of things both beatiful and rough

*

Easy to mount but hard to steer

So full of longing, yet austere

And once you launch, you never know

Wherever such love makes you go.

*veritas

Betrayal

I thought you angels, you were men,

Possessed by faults that men possess,

Like me. Same problems, same regrets

I longed for more but there was less

Trust not in humans says the Lord

Unless that's all you can afford.

*

They all meant well, they really tried,

They gave so much, they couldn't more,

They were upholding their right,

Nay,,, obligation, duty, law

But.. self-delusion drove them forth

In righteous anger, zeal and froth

*

Integrity is hard to find,

Few are the men who know themselves,

Rule their hearts, bind their mind,

And gaze beyond their narrow cell.

If you encounter such a man,

Give'm all the Honor that you can.

*veritas

Walking the paths of life

I walked so many darkened paths, that I have learned to fear

So many shadows flashed by me along the lonely streets

Is there a road I cannot find?

Is there a hill I wouldn't climb?

*

I learned to fear, I studied hope

Pursued both with a glee

And played the instruments of Life

In frightful Harmony

*

We face temptations

And regrets,

We grasp at chances,

We tempt Fate

*

Both, dear reader, Life and Death

Are common destiny of Man

The road is long and does not end

Till you fall off it or ascend.

God, the Teacher

(Tehillim 25:8 - Good and upright is Hashem: therefore he will teach sinners in the way.)

*********************************************

I am the anvil of Thine wrath

On which you shape and splice and mold

I am the cutting board on which

You cut and glue and paste and fold

*

A stern taskmaster You have been

And You have made me who I am

No greater praise belongs to Thee

Than which is fashioned by Your hand

*

Though I complain, You are my Friend

All I have gained I owe to Thee

Give me instruction but restrain

Your blade of blessed Discipline.

*veritas

Against all winds..

A lonely tree in gorgeous gold bedecked

Stands out upon a desolate landscape

Her Autumn Glory deepened but not wrecked

Her purple amber in a state of Grace.

The winds have blown away her leaves

But some remain. Those that remain reveal a deeper hue

A multi-colored cloak against the winds

Resisting certain loss they stand, the few.

*

The tree's a rock. Unbending it denies

Bleak desolation, twisted limbs, the gusts

Rout all around, falling men and cries

Men are like trees. Some bend before the storms

But others struggle, gaining deeper hues

Gold streaked with silver, ascents without pause

veritas

Fall

The fall is rushing its amber glow,

The stately oak sheds its summer cloak

The brightness dims and the evenings slow

*

The breezes cool and the chirps are heard

They quack and quarrel and in a blink are gone

and the frost cracks crisply under walker's sole

*

Hold forth the winds of the coming change

In bleak long shrouds meet the gasping eye

Midst ghastly shrieks of a lonely crane

*

.Sadness will descend, melancholic wake

Of the passing joys weaving vague designs

Dissappearing geese over silent lake

*veritas

Deep in the night...

Deep in the night many troubles sleep,

Throngs of pains wrapped in dark will in silence lay,

And until the dawn undisturbed remain.

.

Only dreams of hurts mar the sleeper's rest,

All is peace and calm on the winding street,

At the corner's turn no one cries of need.

.

Silver moon smiles gently into restless soul,

In torn clouds enveloped it shines as it had,

In the child not knowing, in the guileless lad.

.

Charmed by moonray slivers it remembers when,

It was still a child in enchanted land,

And the moonbeam shimmered in the tempter's hand.

*veritas