By Eileen Wingard
LA JOLLA, California —The poetic talent in the San Diego Jewish Community was once more on display last Monday evening, January 24, when three featured poets and nine others on open mic read their works during the “Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices” program.
Sponsored by the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center’s Astor Judaica Library and the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, this free presentation on Zoom opened with poets Elaine Moore and Dr. Martin Bobrowsky and songwriter, Carla Berg Singer. The works of the featured poets occupied the first hour.
A number of the poets in the open mic, which followed, will probably be tapped by the Jewish Poets-Jewish Voices Committee to be featured poets in next season’s series, they were so impressive.
Elaine Moore began with a poem by her late brother, Harvey Mathason, who inspired her to write poetry and who was taken from her by COVID-19 during this pandemic. Elaine’s poetry spanned many topics and reflected her extensive travels.
Dr. Bobrowsky came to poetry later in life, inspired by virtual Hebrew poetry classes from Israel. His poems ranged from nonsensical to gravely serious, like the sample below in Yiddish with its English translation.
Carla Berg Singer (https://linktr.ee/carlabergsinger), born in Brazil, daughter of Hebrew and Arabic speaking parents, grew up speaking Portuguese, Hebrew, and Arabic and now sings in many more languages, including Ladino. Her original songs combine languages. Her multi-language singing can be heard here: https://youtu.be/n2i0uKJINXo
Below are samples of the poems read by the featured poets:
FLOATING ON THE DEAD SEA by Elaine Moore
Relaxed, knowing I wouldn’t sink,
I calmly rested on the Dead Sea’s Surface
Arms spread out
And floated like on a waterbed.
The sea’s soothing salts
Momentarily eclipsed some worrisome thoughts-
Of a nation forever engulfed in a senseless war
Over religion, land, centuries old hatreds
and disputes
And needless killings.
If only the sea’s salts
Could heal the wounds of vengeance
And wash away the spilled blood
From off the land
If the people of Israel and its Arab neighbors
Could all float on a Dead Sea or forgetfulness
and forgiveness
And become like newborns-devoid of prejudice,
Then the Holy Land could light the way to world peace.
BUTTERFLY by Harvey Mathason (Elaine Moore’s brother)
Butterfly wake from your sleep
The world you once knew
Engorge your wings with your body fluids
Unfurl your wings and fly
Imbibe the nectar from the flower
And paint your exotic colors across the sky
You are the flicker of two forms
And you are the delicate flicker
Of our imagination, the becoming
Of what we dream
Like you I can creep before I fly
And I can sprout invisible wings
To take me high
My nectar comes from everyone
And what I imbibe does not harm the flower
Oh to freely give like the flower
The beautiful to the beautiful
KOSOVO 2000 by Martin Borowsky
(in Yiddish)
In Kosovo haynt iz khoydesh Nisn. Der khoy”desh fun friling
Un hofenung iz vider finster vi vinter. Di himlen bagrist
Mit dem yomergeshrey fun kinder un froyen un mener, un
Di nacht beloychtn fun bombes un flamen.
Farblindt fun’m bild fun televizie, farshvindlt mir der kop
Un oyf a moment farlir ikh di tzayt un ikh veys nit vu ikh bin.
Is dos Pristina bym sof fun yortoyznt oder
Warshawa in drayunfertzik?
Un mir vekh hobn gezogt “keyn mol nit vider”—mir
Veynen mit farshlosene oygn!
Un du, mayn liber Got, du shvaygst oykh?! Du host nebackh nit kayn trern, kayn kol?! Amol hostu undz bafrayt fun Mitzrayim mit a shtarker hant. Yetzt ober
Got, bistu alt? Bistu mid? Tuen dir vey dayne beyner un dayn
Hant iz mer nit azoy shtark?!
Mir velkhe hobn geshrien, “rateve undz, farges undz nit!”
Mir darfn nemen Got bayn hant un zogn “efsher bistu nit
bekeyakh—ober mir zaynen yokhl!”
KOSOVO 2000 (English translation)
In Kosovo it is now the month of Nisan
The month of springtime of renewal of hope
Becomes as dark as deepest winter
The heavens are greeted with the anguished cries of children of men of women
And the nights lit only by bombs and fire
Blinded by the images on the television
My head so confused
That I forget where I am
Am I in Pristina in the year 1000
Or in Warsaw in 1943
And we who had vowed “never again”
We cry behind closed eyes
And you, my dear God, again silent?
You have I’m afraid no tears, no voice
Once you freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand
But now God, are you that old, that tired
Do your bones creak and your hand weakened
We who had cried out Save us, forget us not
We have to take God by the hand and say
Maybe your strength is gone, but not ours.
LET IT BE by Carla Berg Singer
EVERYTHING IS SET TO RECONNECT
THE SUN THE SEA THE SOLITUDE
BUT YOU STAY IN YOUR CORNER
AND I IN MINE
AND THAT’S HOW WE PASS THE TIME
I WON’T TALK
TO NOT PROVOKE YOU
KEEP THE PEACE AND NO
LONGER FIGHT
BUT WITH THIS SOLUTION ALL
THAT LASTS IS LONELINESS
IN THIS PARADISE, IN VAIN.
SO KISS ME AND CELEBRATE ME
NOW LOVE ME AND RELAX
I WANT TO FEEL YOUR PASSION
WITH THAT BURNING LOVE
I MISS, YES
YOU BEING LIKE THIS
NEAR ME SO HAPPY
ONCE AND FOR ALL
*
Eileen Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com
Thank you Eileen for a lovely and complete summary of an interesting program. I enjoyed reading the poems too.