"A prayer burning with incense". Beth Levin

Beth Levin

1.

I want to write a poem in Spanish

the words curling up at the ends

hinting at amor

I'd walk through a fountain

and pen the wettest words

On cobblestone streets write verses

ancient shadows exuding from each step

I want to write a poem on a train

stick my head out the window

catch the air the motion

write a poem about everyman

and everywoman in a language of soul

walk through a museum and put

Matisse down in a notebook

I want to write a Sunday poem

a prayer burning with incense

so that a poem on Monday

would shine and fly to the paper

2.

Get up in the dark

feel for my pants and shoes

coffee offers false hope

the eyes not responding

Mustard pillars below ground

Wet Paint

voices travel the cold tiles

(mustard gas a possibility they say)

Stand the whole way

feel for my music

reading “Esme” miss my stop

3.

An Old, Old Poem

I live alone

Lulu cat strides the piano

sprick-spack sprick-sprack

One blue eye one green

My dreams have fled

I am content

laugh to myself

knowing the secrets truth kept

from desire

I fry two eggs in the iron skillet

butter stings the surface

bubbles dancing

eggs combust with butter

balloon out here and there

before becoming an omelet

At night wrapped in a patterned shawl

I rummage old letters with a Florentine eye

My lovers sweet cool

demanding unselfish

I spy a nuthatch

Woo-ee-ah Woo-ee-ah

all the day long

Death does not trouble

I hope he takes me

sitting at the window

staring at wild thyme

4.

If I had a cat

I'd name it Basho

whose words so long ago

were lithe

and artfully wrought

Kitty kitty come and lap sweet milk

from this bowl

an imperceptible crack

On the whole

I'd prefer a kitty named Basho

yes and no, no- yes!

5.

The Caregiver.

The heat of the morning

I set a woven tray by your bed

coffee toast slightly charred

blackberry jam

A relentless sun

Rain would be lovely

hearts need a cooling off

My sundress is cool

tucan- patterned

Carribean New York City

1975

You and I

You were married we waited 

in love a little older

You gave me jade sea pearls

kisses for nothing

I relive it

Too soon your body gave way,

sudden incurable

Sweet, I will come in a moment

to bathe you in raindrops

a cool washcloth of tears

to relieve you

6.

Voyeur

Years ago I see this man

walking down the street

just a few seconds an impression

but I remember him clearly

he walked with a limp

his face quick changing from bemusement to anger

from secrecy to open heartedness

he walks in to a smoke shop

I almost follow but stay behind

preferring the stance of the voyeur

You carry with you an aura of tenderness

and I have deep empathy for you

You could be my grandfather whom I never met

You could be a rebbi from the neighborhood

who taught the kids their bar mitzvah lessons

You could be one of the dead of the Holocaust

or one in the pogroms

Did I see you in World at War as they were panning

the bombed cities of Poland and Hungary?

this was a long time ago and it all happened in an instant.

Beth Levin