from Jerusalem by Jakob Stein

 

 

 

 

Footsteps, birthpangs

 

yeast in the soul, whole

worlds in shreds

 

Gog v’Magog then

Eliyahu ha-Navi

 

ben Yosef ben Dovid

 

but first empty tefillin

one more chaos to come

 

 

*

 

 

Herding her deadstock

little lost thoughts

 

shellshard, klippos, whole

world of shards

 

what light is lent me

 

 

*

 

 

A man stands.  A man cannot stand

in the landscape around him.  Light escapes him

 

loss is his name    & the fullness thereof

 

ludicrous loss

undersong of our language

 

In the end build a name there, home

perfect in ruin

 

sounding the Name

 

 

*

 

 

Conceal me in Your tent’s

                             concealment

 

even Your hiddenness hidden

 

all but Your hiddenness

hidden from me

 

 

*

 

 

Tikkun chatzos

 

midnight north-wind

sings thru the harp

 

hung over the bed so they rise

for the hour the heart poured out

 

till nothing left

 

thrown then & thrown

again & again

 

endworld to endworld

 

then again thrown

 

 

*

 

 

Small psalms fill the mouth

& the one

 

breath stopped

that would have pushed them out

 

 

*

 

 

Vaporous certainties

eyes in a box

 

icons, idols

disciples of screens

                                                                 

the becoming-machine of Edom

 

no-road to no-throne

 

 

*

 

 

Two doors to two chambers     now

spin them     now install seven more

 

sevenfold interopening

 

inonunfolding

 

 

*

 

 

Innermore Even-stone

holds the whole singularity

 

earth blooms around it

 

first circle clarity second

dimmer third nearly opaque