Nursery Rhyme #5, for Sweet Zach

Baa baa black sheep
have you any wool?
Yes, sir, no, sir,
Three bags full.
One for my master
and one for my dame,
and Zach wants
one for his "NaNa"
who lives near
the train.....

Nursery Rhyme #4 for ZAP

Ring-around the rosy
A pocketful of posy,
Zach laughs with a big "Ha ha,"
And finds his nose
and toesies.
When the children yell,
"All fall down,"
Zachary calls out, "MaMa."

em

Nursery Rhyme #3, for Zach

Zack and Jill
went up the hill
to fetch a pail
of water.

Jill fell down
and broke her crown,
and Zack kept yelling,
"Da-Da."

em

Nursery Rhyme #2, for Zach

Zachary dackary dock,
the mouse ran up the clock.

The clock struck one,
and down he run.

"BOOM BOOM!"
said Zachary
dackary dock.

Nursery Rhyme #1, for Zachary

Thank you for this miracle
this miraculous day
of holding
my boy's boy
on my knee.

G-d in his mercy
blesses the loyal
who remain
in his fold.
I pray now
that I may live
to be very old.

Thank you for this miracle
this miraculous day
of seeing
my boy's boy
so happily
at play.


em

Haiku for Zach: Ecce Homo (Behold the Man)

Some day those eye buds
will blossom and you'll become
a beautiful man

Haiku, for Z.A.P.

Those great big love buds
that seek to know this world. My
sweet sweet baby love.

HAIKU, FOR ZAP

Such a little boy
but you're such a miracle:
Those loving you eyes,,,,

Haiku: for Z.A.P.

such big baby love
i feel for such a little boy.
my big baby love.

Masada

There we were all huddled together
in our citadel; the zealots resisting
the Romans, the biggest hypocrites of all,
the ones who crucified Christ, the Jew.

There was talk of murder and suicide
to save women from prostitution
and children from slavery.
We saw the Romans coming.
Die! said our leaders, as they killed wives
and children alike.

But I was alone: Nobody's wife;
nobody's child. So I did not die.

Instead I made my way down
the cliffs of Masada
and ran far, far away:
There was so much death
and misery
that I was unseen.

And that was so long ago.
Some old soul has since sneaked
into my body: I am not quite dead;
not really alive. Maybe a ghost.

I have returned to Masada:
I watch boys and girls
confirm their Jewish souls
somewhere near the foot
of the mount. I pray
as I search among the ruins
that I might find
a kindred or at least
friendly soul.

Sometimes, I do.

em