An American sentence: This Passover, we'll toast freedom in safety while Russia bombs Ukraine. What's an 'American Sentence'? Allen Ginsberg, inventor of the American Sentence, felt that the haiku didn’t work as well in English. Ginsberg decided to remove the line structure of the haiku, maintaining the requirement of 17 syllables total. He felt that… Continue reading Safety, or: False comfort
Human morality is unthinkable without empathy.-Frans de Waal (b. 1948) The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other.-Meryl Streep (b. 1949) Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.-Mohsin Hamid (b. 1971) Reading is an exercise in… Continue reading A mysterious connection to each other…
Poetry Partners #3 'Cognition', a cherita by Jennifer Patino of 'Thistle Thoughts' gaze into my reflecting pool keep prodding & fishing to latch onto my meaning try to catch confessions deep under my surface in your analytical net Jennifer Patino: https://thistlethoughts.com/ A reverse cherita by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’ In the form of… Continue reading Cognition, or: Deep diving
A 'Wheelchair Angel Style' poem My foot fractured, I stumbled around upon crutches, and never will I forget that experience. Still, truth be told & painful though that was, I was walking around again only several weeks later. Ultimately, those many days increased my appreciation of the daily struggles that my friend Jessica must contend… Continue reading Mind of, or: Matter
Epigraph: Listening is being able to be changed by the other person.–Alan Alda (b. 1936) An American sentence: Sincere curiosity led me to listen, which rather changed me. What's an 'American Sentence'? Allen Ginsberg, inventor of the American Sentence, felt that the haiku didn’t work as well in English. Ginsberg decided to remove the line structure… Continue reading Sympathy, or: Empathy
Israel means: "Struggle with God" A young rabbi friend of mine once praised me, suggesting that my ongoing contemplations about God, given that I'm an adult in my forties, are a testament to my relationship with God. My back-and-forth struggle with the concept (even though I lean more towards doubt than belief), as he framed… Continue reading Don’t judge, compare, or try to fix others
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. -Henri Nouwen (1932 – 1996)
My 2nd American sentence The disabled ramp is serpentine. Hurry... We're in the museum! What's an 'American Sentence'? Allen Ginsberg, inventor of the American Sentence, felt that the haiku didn’t work as well in English. Ginsberg decided to remove the line structure of the haiku, maintaining the requirement of 17 syllables total. He felt that… Continue reading Ableism, or: Empathy
The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱 
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