Poetica Magazine, Reflections of Jewish Thought

First Place

 

Abram Hears the Voice of God

       "...the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying,  
      Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."
                                                         Genesis 15:1

           by Carol Tufts

 

The slow wandering in the plain

cadence of the plains, the going

up in spring to the greening

hills, alone there with his herds,

he might have come to conceive

something, as if the gorgeous

chrysalis of the sky could crack

and a voice call to him

through the crooning night,

above the purling dreams

of his sleeping animals.

So that when the syllables

of his name summoned,

stunning as consummation,

he did not know if it was

the echo of his own longing

he heard, or something

showing itself at last,

telling him his life

was measured beyond its ending,

beyond the radiant oases

of stars, spacious

as the moment's close

of simple wholeness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Place

Helen Papell

 

 

Third Place

Madeline Tiger

 

 

Honorable Mention

Eric Diamond

Haya Pomerenz

Carol Tufts

Erika Michael

Madeline Tiger

 

First Place

 

Young Zayde in Brooklyn: First Sunday

         by Art Schwartz

 

Suddenly awake, he listens prudently

to noise outside, and makes a judgment:

all this clamor is, for now, demanding nothing.

 

It's early; he stays still, listening to hooves

that clatter, voices, trains that shake the bed,

and still there is no need for a response, and

 

Calmed he calculates the distance he has traveled,

counts the borders, sees the great ship Rotterdam,

compares two names, the first no longer his,

 

And hears his wife, the Bobbe's urgent voice, and

sees them leaving, sees his little daughter's face

when they are stopped for questioning at Vilna,

 

Thinks of the lantzman who was first to tell

about this place, imagines famous Washington,

whose high ambition was for streets like this,

 

Then, cautiously considering new strategies

against the noise that is no more than waves

that lull and gently rock, and lying back,

 

He mulls the chance of sleeping late amazed,

and answers "yes" aloud, and closes tired eyes with

gratitude for Washington who wishes this neighborhood.

 

 

 

Second Place

Joel Moskowitz

 

 

Third Place

Ed Galing

 

 

Honorable Mention

Ricky Friesem

Ruth Holtzer

Helen Latner

Maureen Sherbondy

Carol Tufts