DRAFT
THE ISRAELI – PALESTINE SOLUTION
The prayer. The hope. Next year in Jerusalem. A homeland for all Jews. A Jewish nation. A Jewish Nationality. Israel has been the fulfillment of the Zionist Dream. A Jewish Nation in the Promised Land.
Jews were driven from Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. The Romans were driven from the land by the Muslims who fought the Christians for centuries to retain the land. Then came the Ottomans to control much of the world including the Promised Land. Then the fall of the Ottoman Empire, followed by the British Protectorate.
After centuries of expulsions, pogroms, and the Holocaust, the United Nations partitioned Palestine, the Promised Land, part for the Jews, part for the Arabs.
But Palestine was a land occupied by hostile Arabs who had national aspirations of their own. The Arabs had been colonized by the Ottomans, and then under British “protection”. The creation of an Israeli nation has thwarted the Arab nationalistic aspirations, resulting in an ongoing war since 1948.
Some will argue that the Arabs were primitive farmers who had no realistic chances for nationhood. And their conduct in Palestine under Arab control would seem to confirm the argument. But, those arguments beg the question of what the situation is now. The conflict goes on without end and people on all sides seek to place blame. After decades of conflict, establishing blame is a waste of energy. At present, Israel occupies an area in which Muslim Arabs live. The occupation has resulted in hatred between Jews and Arabs. There are generations of Jews and Arabs that hate each other.
The current thought is a two state solution. It is the proposed solution which has been on the agenda for over a decade. I believe that two states living in peace is not practical. I believe it will mean an ongoing war. .
A single state solution means that Israel would become a state with a population of Jews, Muslims and other minorities. With proportional representation, the Zionist Nation would no longer exist. Does this mean the end of the Zionist dream? Probably yes. But the Zionist dream was a homeland, not a state. The United States has provided a homeland and safe haven for 6 million Jews.
With a one state solution, Israel could become a powerful democratic nation with separation of church and state. Israel could become the “melting pot” of the Middle East, welcoming Muslims, Christians, Gypsies and other peoples from from all over the world. With Israeli expertise, the one state could prosper. With Egypt’s cooperation, the Sinai desert could be reclaimed. Prosperity can come to all.
Of course, there will still be problems with the fanatics, but those problems could be controlled by a prospering people.
Am I dreaming?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
More Poems
THE ENEMY
Politically Incorrect Thoughts
Are we guilty?
Did we deserve:
The Marines bombings in Lebanon
Black Hawk down
The Cole
Hostages
Beheadings
Bombs on airplanes
September 11
Whether we were right or wrong
Invaded for democracy or for oil
Had good or evil intentions
Innocent or guilty
Supported Israeli occupation
Doesn’t matter
We are the Muslim’s enemy
Not just Bin Laden
Not just Hamas
Not just the radicals
Muslims despise us
Muslims despise our values
Muslims despise the West
The Quran authorizes death to infidels
Muslims have declared Jihad
They do not seek truce
They do not seek peace
They seek an Islamic world
Muslims are the enemy
Muslims are my enemy
WHY DO THEY KILL OUR SOLDIERS?
In full flight gear, helmet in hand,
Our president leaped from the jet
To the carrier deck, and declared
“Mission accomplished!
The tyranny is ended.
Iraq is free.”
Those words were world awaited.
But war rages on.
Suicide bombs, car bombs, roadside bombs,
Insurgents kill and maim our soldiers.
Our soldiers came as liberators.
Why do Iraqis kill our soldiers?
Iraqis call our soldiers occupiers,
Infidels and enemies of Allah.
But our soldiers fought to free Iraq.
Our president declared the “Mission Accomplished”!
Iraqis aren’t dancing in the streets.
Instead, they kill our soldiers.
DAMNED
If only I could believe
There’d be no fear of dying
But if I said “God, I believe”,
He‘d know that I was lying
So if there really is a God
I best not try my soul to sell
Lest I be damned by God himself
To dwell forever in Dante’s Hell
SILENCE
Innocent, guilty
Right, wrong
Good, evil
Doesn’t matter
Infidels are the enemy
We are the infidels
We are Islam’s enemy
Bin Laden, Ahmadinejad
The Taliban, Hizbullah, Hamas
Egyptian Brotherhood, Radical Islamists
They are not the Muslim majority?
So where is the Muslim majority?
We do we not hear them.
There is overwhelming silence.
A THANK YOU NOTE FROM IRWIN TO ALL
FOR MY 80TH BIRTHDAY PARTY
THAT LEONA MADE FOR ME
It was a wonderful party,
A complete and utter surprise.
I expected supper at the club
With lobster rolls and fries.
I was struck dumb. I couldn’t speak
When first I saw the people there.
People I hadn’t seen in years
Looking great, a little grayer.
I’ll try to recall who was there.
So many I hadn’t time to greet:
Cousins, friends and associates,
The party was Leona’s feat.
The greatest of Leona’s coup
The publication of my book!
Because of her I’m in bound print
Not just a jingle writing schnook.
Hats off to Amy and Julie
Who conspired with Leona and Fred
To produce a video of my life
My early years, the life I led.
Cousin Barbara was the first
A little older, but a beauty still.
We were just kids growing up.
I loved her then. I always will.
And there was my cousin Victor
The only survivor of Shlomi Brown.
He remembered winning our wrestling “match”.
He beat me then. He could beat me now.
What a surprise for me to see
Rabbi Splansky with Greta Lee.
Jeff’s bar mitzvah and two mezuzahs
Fourteen years since the eulogy.
Uncle Harold our patriarch
With Aunt Charlotte his loving mate
Honored me with majestic presence
Making me feel like I really rate.
Marvin and Doris gave to me
A snapshot of a youthful three.
Bringing back the memory
Of handsome Bernie, Marvin and me.
My niece Andi just back from Basel
Added sparkle to the surprise.
She and Doug looking fit and trim
A pleasant sight for my old eyes.
Sumner, my oldest brother-out-law
And his beautiful young wife, Annette
My drinking pal in the family,
A cocktail for two is what I get.
A wonderful brother-out-law, Norton.
An athlete, and my liberal friend,
Who hates George Bush with a passion,.
But he loves his Dottie to the very end.
My classmate cousin Judy came.
Adding love to a happy day
I thought of Ed. We all loved him
There’s nothing else for me to say,
Sam with Sandy, the Grandma of
The wonderful Bat Mitzvah three
Your mazel tov is well deserved
You have an amazing family.
We wished that Alan were with us, but.
Anne made the trip with Ted and Jim
Representing our Westport friends
With their zest, vigor and vim.
Tom “Nips” Stover and Jesse Ehrlich
Representing Hanscom Patents
Reminded me of my Air Force days
And my humorous antic talents.
Jeff and Carla lost their way
So they arrived a little late.
They didn’t hear them yell “surprise”
‘Cause coming late’s a family trait.
Phyllis, Laurie, Elyse and Bob,
Beryl’s oldest and her dearest friends.
Mine as well, over fifty years
Good friends all, that time transcends.
Cousin Mimi and David Brown
Pinned my name on a far off star.
I’m now known throughout the world
That’s only reached by a lunar car.
I was “best man” in forty-six
Carol and Jack will both attest.
I’m not so sure that’s true today.
Jack’s aged well, and now’s the best.
Esteruth and Lenny
Sent a gift that I must mention
A Lenny Rumpler original
To grace my art collection.
Laurel & Bill and both their kids,
Jonathan and Rosalie,
Unexpectedly came to town
And celebrated the day with me.
In fourteen years with Leona,
Her friends became mine, too.
They tolerate my humor and
Some outrageous things I do.
So without trying to make a rhyme:
I toast them all together
Leona’s gang of wonderful friends:
Charlie and Marge, Larry and Joan,
Joel and Carole, Barry and Myrna
Helene and Marty, Howie and Evie
Robin and Art. Leona thanks you.
I thank you. We both love you all
Last but not least, “me Amy”
I just didn’t realize
She was sending all the invites out
So I never did surmise
That she and Leona planned
My huge birthday surprise.
Thanks to all, with love
Irwin
Politically Incorrect Thoughts
Are we guilty?
Did we deserve:
The Marines bombings in Lebanon
Black Hawk down
The Cole
Hostages
Beheadings
Bombs on airplanes
September 11
Whether we were right or wrong
Invaded for democracy or for oil
Had good or evil intentions
Innocent or guilty
Supported Israeli occupation
Doesn’t matter
We are the Muslim’s enemy
Not just Bin Laden
Not just Hamas
Not just the radicals
Muslims despise us
Muslims despise our values
Muslims despise the West
The Quran authorizes death to infidels
Muslims have declared Jihad
They do not seek truce
They do not seek peace
They seek an Islamic world
Muslims are the enemy
Muslims are my enemy
WHY DO THEY KILL OUR SOLDIERS?
In full flight gear, helmet in hand,
Our president leaped from the jet
To the carrier deck, and declared
“Mission accomplished!
The tyranny is ended.
Iraq is free.”
Those words were world awaited.
But war rages on.
Suicide bombs, car bombs, roadside bombs,
Insurgents kill and maim our soldiers.
Our soldiers came as liberators.
Why do Iraqis kill our soldiers?
Iraqis call our soldiers occupiers,
Infidels and enemies of Allah.
But our soldiers fought to free Iraq.
Our president declared the “Mission Accomplished”!
Iraqis aren’t dancing in the streets.
Instead, they kill our soldiers.
DAMNED
If only I could believe
There’d be no fear of dying
But if I said “God, I believe”,
He‘d know that I was lying
So if there really is a God
I best not try my soul to sell
Lest I be damned by God himself
To dwell forever in Dante’s Hell
SILENCE
Innocent, guilty
Right, wrong
Good, evil
Doesn’t matter
Infidels are the enemy
We are the infidels
We are Islam’s enemy
Bin Laden, Ahmadinejad
The Taliban, Hizbullah, Hamas
Egyptian Brotherhood, Radical Islamists
They are not the Muslim majority?
So where is the Muslim majority?
We do we not hear them.
There is overwhelming silence.
A THANK YOU NOTE FROM IRWIN TO ALL
FOR MY 80TH BIRTHDAY PARTY
THAT LEONA MADE FOR ME
It was a wonderful party,
A complete and utter surprise.
I expected supper at the club
With lobster rolls and fries.
I was struck dumb. I couldn’t speak
When first I saw the people there.
People I hadn’t seen in years
Looking great, a little grayer.
I’ll try to recall who was there.
So many I hadn’t time to greet:
Cousins, friends and associates,
The party was Leona’s feat.
The greatest of Leona’s coup
The publication of my book!
Because of her I’m in bound print
Not just a jingle writing schnook.
Hats off to Amy and Julie
Who conspired with Leona and Fred
To produce a video of my life
My early years, the life I led.
Cousin Barbara was the first
A little older, but a beauty still.
We were just kids growing up.
I loved her then. I always will.
And there was my cousin Victor
The only survivor of Shlomi Brown.
He remembered winning our wrestling “match”.
He beat me then. He could beat me now.
What a surprise for me to see
Rabbi Splansky with Greta Lee.
Jeff’s bar mitzvah and two mezuzahs
Fourteen years since the eulogy.
Uncle Harold our patriarch
With Aunt Charlotte his loving mate
Honored me with majestic presence
Making me feel like I really rate.
Marvin and Doris gave to me
A snapshot of a youthful three.
Bringing back the memory
Of handsome Bernie, Marvin and me.
My niece Andi just back from Basel
Added sparkle to the surprise.
She and Doug looking fit and trim
A pleasant sight for my old eyes.
Sumner, my oldest brother-out-law
And his beautiful young wife, Annette
My drinking pal in the family,
A cocktail for two is what I get.
A wonderful brother-out-law, Norton.
An athlete, and my liberal friend,
Who hates George Bush with a passion,.
But he loves his Dottie to the very end.
My classmate cousin Judy came.
Adding love to a happy day
I thought of Ed. We all loved him
There’s nothing else for me to say,
Sam with Sandy, the Grandma of
The wonderful Bat Mitzvah three
Your mazel tov is well deserved
You have an amazing family.
We wished that Alan were with us, but.
Anne made the trip with Ted and Jim
Representing our Westport friends
With their zest, vigor and vim.
Tom “Nips” Stover and Jesse Ehrlich
Representing Hanscom Patents
Reminded me of my Air Force days
And my humorous antic talents.
Jeff and Carla lost their way
So they arrived a little late.
They didn’t hear them yell “surprise”
‘Cause coming late’s a family trait.
Phyllis, Laurie, Elyse and Bob,
Beryl’s oldest and her dearest friends.
Mine as well, over fifty years
Good friends all, that time transcends.
Cousin Mimi and David Brown
Pinned my name on a far off star.
I’m now known throughout the world
That’s only reached by a lunar car.
I was “best man” in forty-six
Carol and Jack will both attest.
I’m not so sure that’s true today.
Jack’s aged well, and now’s the best.
Esteruth and Lenny
Sent a gift that I must mention
A Lenny Rumpler original
To grace my art collection.
Laurel & Bill and both their kids,
Jonathan and Rosalie,
Unexpectedly came to town
And celebrated the day with me.
In fourteen years with Leona,
Her friends became mine, too.
They tolerate my humor and
Some outrageous things I do.
So without trying to make a rhyme:
I toast them all together
Leona’s gang of wonderful friends:
Charlie and Marge, Larry and Joan,
Joel and Carole, Barry and Myrna
Helene and Marty, Howie and Evie
Robin and Art. Leona thanks you.
I thank you. We both love you all
Last but not least, “me Amy”
I just didn’t realize
She was sending all the invites out
So I never did surmise
That she and Leona planned
My huge birthday surprise.
Thanks to all, with love
Irwin
Monday, August 2, 2010
Lot's of Poems
Over the years I've been writing lot's of stuff. Here are some of my Poems
IS IT FAIR?
The Pope died.
He’s now with God.
The suicide bomber died.
He gets virgins.
When I die, I want women
With experience.
But what will I get?
Nothing.
You get what you pray for.
That’s fair
MY DILEMMA
Who are my people?
They were slaves in Egypt
Their temple was destroyed
They were Aliens in foreign lands
They endured Expulsions, Pogroms.
Inquisitions, Anti-Semitism
The Holocaust, Muslim terror
They fought to establish a Jewish state
My people have survived 6578 years
My people are Jews
Ultra-orthodox, Orthodox
Conservative, Reform
Humanist, Agnostic, Atheist
I am proud of my people
I am proud to be a Jew.
But I am a denier
I deny God’s relevance
I deny the Covenant
I deny Moses talked with God on Sinai
I deny God Parted the Red Sea
I deny God gave Moses the Commandments
If all my people are deniers
Can my people survive?
This is a denier’s dilemma.
This is my dilemma.
IN THE CLOSET
Rational men and women
Do not believe:
Bible is the word of God
Jesus was the Son of God
Koran was the last word of God
Mormon is God’s latest last word
Rational men and women do believe:
Universes are infinite in time and space
Men and women do not understand infinity
Rational men and women, declare your rationality
Come out of the closet
THE GIFTS
Judaism’s gifts to the world:
One God
The Torah
The Commandments
The rule of law
The Prophets
Hillel
Jesus
The Golden Rule
Mohammad
Maimonades
Joseph Smith
Karl Marx
Einstein
Freud
Salk
and
163 Nobel Prizes
Judaism, a gift that keeps on giving
Faith
Reason says bible is myth
Rational men know
God didn’t talk to Moses
Jesus was not God incarnate
Allah did not dictate the Koran to Muhammad
Yet intelligent and otherwise rational men
Substitute faith for reason
Pope John Paul was an intelligent man
He had faith and is now with god
Martyrs have faith and live in paradise
Bible promises resurrection
The faithful die with hope for the future
For the faithful
God is shepherd
Answers prayers
Comforts
Offers salvation
Atheists are rational
Atheists have no shepherd
No comforter
No salvation
No future
When atheists die, that’s it.
So be it
HATRED AND HOPE
Muslims hate us ever since
Sarah sent Ishmael away
That was six thousand years ago
They hate us to this very day.
Christians hate us ever since
Romans crucified their Christ
Gospels hold the Jews to blame
Claiming an evil Jewish tryst.
Spreading vicious Protocols lies
Accusing Jews of poisoning wells
Blaming the Jews for deadly plagues
Accusing Jews of evil blood libel
Denying the Nazi holocaust
Distorting the ancient Jewish Bible.
There’s little hope for lasting peace
For Jews in their Jewish State.
They can survive, may even thrive
In spite of vicious widespread hate.
REFLECTIONS ON THE INFINITY
Twenty, an atheist,
lying at the stern of a warship
in the Pacific Ocean,
gazing at a clear, cloudless night sky.
I saw an infinite universe.
I was overwhelmed, in awe.
if there is an infinite universe,
there must be an infinite source.
that source must be what
the prophets called God.
It is sixty years since I lay on that deck
and discovered the infinite universe.
I am still overwhelmed, in awe,
still an atheist.
.PASSOVER
What does Passover mean?
The Pesach symbols on a dish.
Kosher wine, the Seder feast,
Matzo balls, gefilte fish ?
But Pesach’s more than just a meal..
There’s an epic story to be told
Of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
The Hebrew Patriarchs of old.
There’s the story of Joseph’s brothers,.
Who envied his colored coat
They threw him in a deep cistern
Thinking he’d been smote.
Joseph lived and gained the throne
Beside the mighty Pharaoh’s seat.
And when the brother’s needed food
He gave them Egypt’s wheat.
Jacob came to Egypt
And his family multiplied,
Until a wicked Pharaoh
Enslaved all Jacob’s tribe.
Then wicked Pharaoh meant to kill
Ev’ry first-born Jewish son.
But Moses lived so he’d become
The Hebrew’s most important one.
The Pharaoh made us Jews his slaves,
That’s what the Bible stories say.
But Moses came to lead the Jews
Out from Egypt and harm’s way.
Moses gave his people
A code for all mankind to read,
Commandments etched by God in stone,
Rules for all mankind to heed.
We celebrate each Pesach
With prayer and hopes for peace.
May all men follow the Moses code.
May mankind’s love for peace increase.
PASSOVER
The Real Story
We know the Bible tales are myth,
That Joseph wasn’t Jacob’s son,
That Moses, an Egyptian prince,
Had one God Ra, the sun.
We tell the tale at Pesach
In prose and praises grand
Of how the Hebrews’ Moses
Led the Jews from Egypt’s land.
We wandered in the desert
‘til Moses thought us fit
To receive God’s Ten Commandments,
The One God’s holy writ.
We know the tale is fiction,
The laws weren’t etched in stone.
Moses wrote the laws by hand
He gave them to the Jews to own.
Not all the laws were new.
There were some from other times.
But the Jews preserved and kept the laws
For the sake of all mankind.
QUID PRO QUO
It’s quite easy to be a Jew
T’was nothing I chose to do
It’s just the way that I was born
Being born of the chosen few
Numbering now so very few
Jews should merit little mention
And yet they daily manage to get
Vicious anti-Semitic attention
Hateful accusations
Christ Killers, infidels all
Stiff necked, money changers
Blood libels and Zion Protocol
It‘s not fair. mostly lies, but
Jews don’t claim perfection
We know no one’s perfect
And Jews are no exception.
But note their contributions
For which there’s little credit
One God and Ten Commandments
Deserve a badge of merit.
Jews gave the world its sacred books
Complete with wisdom and myth.
Jews gave the world the Prophets
Moses, Jesus. Mohammed, and Smith.
There’s a moral to this poem
One you all should know
In life the Jews just can’t expect
To get fair quid pro quo
AM I A JEW?
A Jew believes in the God
who made Eve from Adam’s rib,
sent a flood,
parted the Red Sea,
led Israel out of Egypt,
chose the Jews
gave them Commandments,
fed them manna,
.I don’t believe in that God.
Am I a Jew?
When Jews beat back the Arab hordes
I was proud of those Jews,
proud of those people.
Those Jews are my people.
I am a Jew.
THAT GOD.
infinite universe
endless time
omnipotent
omniscient
creator god
if that god cared about us
if that god loved us
there would be no
holocausts
genocides
boy soldiers
tsunamis
wars
that god is not a caring god.
that god is not a loving god
that god doesn’t give a damn
WHAT’S TO BE EXPECTED?
No matter the causations
After generations of humiliations,
Occupations, subjugations, annexations
What’s to be expected?
Hate’s to be expected
By generations subjected
Security walls erected
Hemming in the disaffected.
Hatred can’t be unexpected.
With so much hate
Can peace prevail
Are we utterly doomed to fail?
Will more mourning mothers wail?
Is there a possible solution
For a peaceful resolution?
We can hope.
WHEN I WAS A BOY
At Christmas time
I got Hanukkah gelt,
A dreidl, chocolate money.
Christian kids got toys
Under Christmas trees.
I hated singing the carols.
“Come let us adore Him”.
Christian kids adored Him.
I didn’t adore him.
I hated him.
Of all the people in the world,
I was one of the few
Chosen to be a Jew,
A Christ killer, a dirty Jew.
Why me?
I’m grown up. Now I know
Jesus was a Jewish rabbi
Preaching radical Jewish ideas:
Love your enemies.
Turn the other cheek.
Do unto others.
Don’t lust.
Jesus preached as a Jew.
He died a Jew.
I am a Jew.
On reflection
I’m glad I was one
Of the chosen few.
APOLOGY
Death to the infidels!
Burn their embassies and flags!
How dare they mock our prophet!
Islam is a religion of tolerance and respect.
Death to those who deny Allah.
Death to those who draw images of Muhammad.
Death to the cartoonists!
Kill the Jews!
Muslims are men of peace.
The Muslims demand an apology.
An apology! For what shall we apologize?
For free speech, free press, freedom of religion?
To whom shall we apologize? The rioters? suicide bombers?
arsonists? deniers of human rights? holocaust deniers?
To those who threaten to finish what Hitler had begun?
Apologize? Not I
THE CARTOONS
A ticking bomb in Muhammad’s hat?
Why would someone think of that?
There were no bombs in Muhammad’s days
He slew the Jews in other ways.
The cartoons depicted the Prophet,
The founder of Islamic belief
And they mocked the ignorant Muslim
Who preaches hate and causes grief.
The cartoons state an honest truth.
Offending the suicide bombers who
Compete for entry to paradise
By killing the Zionist Jew.
WHAT TO DO?
Why are we still bashing Bush?
Look at all the wars he’s won.
He’s changed Iraq’s corrupt regime.
Bin Laden’s hiding on the run.
Iraq now has a constitution
The insurgency is bound to fail
Saddam Hussein is standing trial
He’ll spend the rest of life in jail.
Bush offers new retirement plans,
Tax benefits for the very rich
Drug plans that confuse us, and
We hardly know which plan is which.
The Patriot Act will be renewed
They’ll know what books we read.
Creation in biology class,
Is what our science students need.
No stem cells for research!
Who cares that miracle cures are lost?
Embryos are such precious lives, so
Into hazardous trash they‘re tossed
Whoring women having lustful sex,
Bear your babies and rejoice!
God made this world for righteous men.
No women’s rights! No women’s choice!
And what about those sinful gays?
George Bush proposed a marriage ban.
No wedding bells for lesbians,
No marriages for man to man
Forget past lies, and past mistakes.
Now what are we supposed to do?
Send more soldiers there to die?
Provide more body parts to strew?
There are options, though only a few:
Admit mistakes our country made or
Stay the course and see it through and
Pray George Bush knows what to do.
NOW &THEN
Irwin Garfinkle 9/21/2005
A blank page on my computer screen!
It’s my inquisitor, my cross-examiner
He waits for my answers.
Do I have a right to counsel?
Do I have Miranda rights?
I don’t know his questions, let alone the answers.
What the hell do you want?
My wisdom?
On matters of life and death?
I’ve lived eighty years.
But I’m not wise.
I know little of life and nothing of death.
I have nothing to say.
You’re going to hold me in contempt!
So, wait a minute, damn you.
Stop nagging while I’m trying to think!
Okay, here’s something.
Probably not the answers you’re looking for,
not visionary enough for you.
It’s the best I can do on short notice.
When young, I strove for the “good life”,
you know, money, power, sex.
That was Then.
But life is not Then.
Life is Now.
Good life, bad life, sickness, health, better, worse.
Now is life.
And what about death?
Beats me.
I guess death is future.
Death is not Now.
Whatever and whenever death is,
Now is not death.
That’s all I have to say.
You satisfied?
Oh damn! My computer screen has another blank page.
What the bleep do you want from me now?
I don’t know anything more.
So sue me. I plead the 5th.
CASEY
She sacrificed a son for him.
She wants to know why.
She wants to know
Her son did not die in vain,
That he died for a noble cause.
What was the noble cause?
To capture Osama Bin Laden?
To find weapons of mass destruction?
To free Iraq?
To establish an Islamic state?
To get Iraqi oil?
For which of these noble causes
Did Private Casey die?
His mother wants to know.
His mother has a right to know
DO NOT RESUSCITATE.
Irwin Garfinkle, 3/11/2005
Her cancers were in remission.
She worried she might live in pain.
She didn’t want to be a burden.
“Do not resuscitate”, she ordered.
“When it’s time, it’s time.
I’m ninety-one, ready to go.
No aggressive procedures”.
During an episode she thought,
”It’s time. I’m going to die”.
But then she pleaded
“Please! Don’t let me die.”
She lived five more years,
An invalid confined to bed.
She died in her sleep.
ELDERQUEST
Irwin Garfinkle 3/5/2006
Is this all there is?
Yes, this is it.
Life goes to a certain end
With an open date.
I can’t take it with me.
So what have I got?
No virgins, no resurrection,
No heaven, no hell. Oh well
Eighty is old, but don’t rush me,
I can wait for a later date.
I have things to do! I’m on a quest.
Don’t yet know what I’m questing for.
Maybe a published poem.
AT THE GATES OF BAGHDAD
Irwin Garfinkle 04/06/2003
We’re at the gates of Baghdad
The war will soon be ended.
Will we be their liberators?
Will Iraqis feel befriended?
Or will we be the infidels,
Invading for Iraqi oil?
Will they want their freedom
When Saddam’s gone from Arab Soil?
Our victory is near at hand.
We’ve routed the Palace Guard.
We’ll have the peace we’re fighting for,
Or will there be a new Jihad?
Winning the war but not the peace
After inflicting so much pain,
If an intifada should arise,
We may have fought the war in vain?
Time will tell.
TO LEONA
I AM WHAT I AM
I am what I am. I won’t change.
Don’t ask me. I’m set in my way.
I’m not perfect, nor am I ideal.
I am what I am; that’s how I’ll stay.
I know I have faults, don’t we all?
I will listen to every suggestion.
I have to do what I have to do
In spite a strong objection.
I am what I am and you know it.
I’ve tried to improve but I can’t
.You have to take me for what I am,
I won’t change, I can’t, I shan’t”
I’M NOT SMART
I’m not smart
But I’m not stupid
It doesn’t take an advanced degree
To know the world is round.
I learned this when my mother
Gave me a globe for my tenth birthday
Columbus learned this
When he sailed to America
And didn’t fall off.
I’m not smart
I can figure out a lot of things.
Though I can’t figure out how
Adam and Eve, Cain, Abel and Seth
Populated the whole world.
Something’s missing
That story must be just a story.
I’m not smart
But I know virgins
Don’t have babies
My daughter told me
She learned about that
In middle school
I’m not smart
I read about Jesus walking on water
Tried that a couple of times.
Good thing I can swim.
Won’t try that again
I’m not stupid
I’m not smart,
I know Moses and Muhammad
Didn’t; climb mountains
To talk to God or Allah
That Mary and Jesus didn’t ascend
That the worlds are billions of years old
How come presidential candidates
Don’t know what I know?
Are they stupid?
AN INVISIBLE MAN
“I need a tissue”, she said
So I kissed her.
That was funny
We laughed
Not always so funny
Can hear people talking, but
Don’t know what’s being said
So I don’t join the conversation and
I become an invisible man
What?
My Birthday
2/28/2006
Late last night
after my birthday party
tanks rumbled into town
soldiers rousted us from bed
ransacked the house
nothing found
mother hysterical
baby pressed to her breast
father is helpless
he is detained
not yet home
is it a wonder
I hate the Jews?
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
March 25, 2003
Let the games begin.
It’s not a John Wayne movie.
It’s not a World Series thriller.
It’s not our team in the Super Bowl.
It is War.
The soldiers go off to front.
We turn to CNN; we wait for the games to start.
We keep score as events unfold.
We’re ahead. Hooray!
War on TV is fun.
Our troops cannot be stopped.
No defense can hold our team.
We cheer them on: rah, rah, sis booms bah.
War on TV is fun.
But war is not a game.
Rush Limbaugh’s cheerleaders
Spout their jingo zeal
Don’t they know that war is real?
War is Shock and Awe.
War is not a game.
War is not settled at the OK Corral,
Or with a last of the ninth homerun.
War is Shock and Awe.
In war, enemies die. In war, friends die.
War is not a game.
THE POETRY WRITERS CLASS
5/1/2006
M y classmates are upset with me
Claim I’m politically incorrect
Though I said the honest truth
I failed to show Muslim respect.
They want a poem with my usual humor
They objected to my pessimist views.
They’d rather I’d optimistically write
Of peace between the Muslims and Jews.
It’s no joke about Irani Nukes,
They solemnly promise to erase the Jews
Threaten Muslim Jihad worldwide
Threaten to light a nuclear fuse.
Nevertheless I’ll do my best
To introduce some humor in rhyme.
I’ll start with Bush, Delay and Rove
Cheney, Liddy, Republican slime.
On second thoughts, they aren’t funny.
They went to war with a pack of lies.
Without a plan they marched and bombed
Without a care of the mothers’ cries.
So what’ll I do? My sex life’s funny
But who in the world be interested?
Maybe I’ll write an old dirty joke,
But a dirty joke would be protested.
So there’s to be no humor this day,
My detested poems will stay detested.
So be it.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
April 10, 2004
In full flight gear, helmet in hand,
He landed on the deck at sea.
And leaping from the jet, declared
“Mission accomplished! Iraq is free!”
The fighting’s done, our men have won.
They call us evil occupiers,
Invading just for Arab oil,
They say we’re Western infidels.
They want us off their Muslim soil.
Did we not set them free?
And so the peace is not yet won.
Insurgents’ daring ambush raids
Kill and maim our valiant men
With roadside bombs and hand grenades.
MY MOTHER
Irwin Garfinkle May 8, 2005
My mother was just my mother
Stay-at-home mom, kitchen gourmet.
Managing the Garfinkle’s home,
Caring for us all in every way.
Sent Jack, her husband off to work,
Hearty breakfast for me and Mel
Then off to school the two of us
In time before the school’s first bell.
We had a maid, a country girl
Who lived with us and helped our Ma,
Watched over us and did house chores
While Ma worked for Youth Aliah
Business reversals. Pa needed help.
So no more maid. Ma just did more
From nine to nine, beside her man
She worked with Jack at his retail store.
It wasn’t bad. We all pitched in.
It was the least we boys could do.
Dinner waiting when they came home
We did the chores, our school work, too.
Then World War II, we boys left home,
Mel with the army’s fighting teams,
Me with the Navy Training Corps,
Ma with nightmares, and violent dreams.
Ma was joyful, when we came home
Unscarred by the perils of war.
She was saddened by those families
Who sadly hung a son’s gold star.
No more at war, she prayed for peace
For country and her family.
Her sons took wives and left the home.
She prayed that they’d live happily.
Work at the store filled the empty nest.
She had charge of her own department.
No longer just a stay at home mom,
She marveled how fast her days were spent.
Death then took an untimely toll,
First Jack, then Mel and Mel’s son Mark.
The store was closed and Ma retired.
She was now alone. Her life turned dark.
Mel had worked with Ma and Pa.
While I was a thousand miles away
So when Pa died, Mel took his place
Mel worked with Ma most every day.
Ma mourned for Jack until Mel died.
Then she mourned for her son
After Mark, Ma could mourn no more
New life for her was then begun.
I thought my Ma now needed me
She refused to move into my home.
She said she valued privacy
And she decided to live alone.
Ma moved to senior housing
Where each day’s usual needs were met
She visited us several times a year
Told me don’t worry, and not to fret.
Of course I had deep feelings of guilt,
Not there to care for my Ma
But she had her independence
And that was best for Ma by far.
She suffered a fatal heart attack
I rushed to be at her side
She spoke to me of her happy life
And soon thereafter she died.
She was a wonderful mother,
a loving wife and
a strong independent woman,
whom I remember with love.
MY LOSING SEASON
2/25/2005
We hadn’t won a football game.
Our record was seven and 0
Bill Jefferson just couldn’t play
His grades were much too low.
In time for the Reading game
Bill raised his grades so he could play
In the game with our hated foe
To be played Thanksgiving day.
Stoneham was cast as underdog
Reading was favored to win.
And with Bill as our quarterback
Our hopes were riding on him.
My parents came to see me play
They‘d never seen me play before.
They only worried I might get hurt
They didn’t care about the score.
I sat on Stoneham’s bench
A substitute right guard,
Waiting for the coach to say,
“Irwin, go in. Play hard.”
In the opening plays of the game
Bill Jefferson ran for a score.
Then got hurt, out of the game
Stoneham could score no more.
Our defense held Reading scoreless.
Stoneham had its only win.
The coach sent in no substitutes
He never said to me “go in”.
I knew coach wanted to put me in;
This was my senior year
He knew my folks were in the stands
Ready to yell and cheer.
Stoneham won! Oh happy day,
Yet my parents didn’t see me play.
My heart was broken at game’s end
I felt no joy for this greatest day.
Beating arch rival, Reading
Was momentous for good reason
It lifted the spirits of our team,
But for me that game,
Was my losing season.
NOBODY
once
I was somebody
now I’m old
a nobody
preaching to old nobodies
is there a somebody here?
war
jihad
anarchy
perhaps a nobody has solutions
but nobody listens
to a nobody.
NATIONAL GUARD
Handsome recruiters
Exciting Benefits
Extra pay
College tuition
Career training
War games
Playing soldier
Weekend warriors
Weekend fun
Weekend heroes
Real war
No more games
No playing soldier
Insurgency
Suicide bombs
Bloodshed
Dead comrades
Dismembered bodies
The stink of war
Real heroes
NO GOODBYE
she was late
a knock on the door
not coming home
how? where? when?
no difference
in an instant
no warning
gone
I was alone
in pain
40 years
shared space
shared joys
shared sorrows
shared love
suddenly alone
no goodbye
AMERICA’S CHOSEN
We chose a Man who hears God’s voice,
God told the Man he was God’s choice.
Is that not reason to rejoice?
It’s a miracle, if not absurd.
The Chosen Man heard God’s true Word.
I was listening. I never heard.
.
Was he a Man that heaven sent?
The chosen Man’s now president.
He knows he knows what God’s word meant.
The president has four more years
Many people are shedding tears
Because of their foreboding fears,
Fears the voice he hears means war,
A Muslim war with martyrs galore,
A war that sensible men abhor.
So with the Man we rise and pray.
Stand up and cheer hip, hip, hooray!
God’s on the side of the USA.
God, can I hear you now?
TRUE LOVE AGAIN.
I was shy, and late maturing
I tried, but girls paid me no heed
At last I loved and married
One who filled my every need.
But alas, I became a widower
Lonely and wallowing in grief
When matchmakers all conspired
To make my widowhood brief
My cousin didn’t know Leona
Her aunt Charlotte didn’t know me
They thought I’d be a very good catch
That we would make the perfect match.
A good catch? A perfect match?
Well, it seems they got it right
Fourteen years together
She’s my princess, I’m her knight. Right?
TWO BOYS
One boy went to cheder
Learned aleph, bet, gimmel.
Memorized his haphtarah
Made a speech in shul
His parents called him a man.
He counted bar mitzvah presents.
One boy went to a mosque
Was taught Shahada
Learned hatred
Killed for Allah
His parents called him a Shahid
He never counted presents.
LET US PRAY
The all knowing, omnipotent God
found only one man worth saving
and drowned the rest in a flood.
The all knowing, omnipotent God
found no one worth saving in Sodom and Gomorra,
not even an innocent child.
The all knowing and omnipotent God
watched the slaughter of eleven million,
including six million of his chosen people.
The all knowing omnipotent God
created a tsunami and drowned
untold thousands of innocent Asians.
Who does this God think he is?
God thinks he created the universe,
But man created God.
God is out of control. “So, God, you’re fired.”
We’ve created a new God to protect us.
We call our new God Aflac.
Let us pray.
HOORAY FOR OUR SIDE.
The invasion was a cakewalk.
The Republican Guard was humbled.
Nothing stopped our troops’ advance.
Iraqi defenses crumbled.
Our troops are all accounted for.
No one is missing in action.
The daring rescue of Jennifer Lynch
Brought national satisfaction.
We proved to the evil axis
We’re the Masters of all we survey.
We have the smartest weapons
Their guns are just child’s play.
Now the fighting war is over.
We must restore tranquility.
I hope our fighting men of war.
Have peace making ability.
The entire world is watching
While our leaders smirk and prance?
I wonder when our troops go home,
Will Iraqis cry, or will they dance?
WHAT WENT WRONG?
A beautiful, sensitive boy.
Handsome and. bright, happy and strong.
Committed and loving parents.
There was so much promise! What went wrong?
Were we too strict, too permissive?
Did we provide more than we should?
The rule of reason was our rule.
We wanted him to reach manhood.
We sought answers; we got advice.
Were there signs we might have missed?
We tried so hard, perhaps too hard
Though now he’s grown, we still persist.
Always the parents fault they say.
You can hear them on talk radios.
We did our best and yet we failed.
We don’t know why. Nobody knows?
So what is a parent to do?
All grown up with kids of his own,
Give him more love, another chance,
Or let him reap the seeds he’s sown.
APOCALYPSE
Hitler is dead
Stalin’s Evil Empire has fallen
The Axis of Evil is contained
The Hindus are building cities
Protocols of Zion are a forgery
The Chinese are becoming capitalists
Buddhists seek serenity
What is there to fear?
Is there an enemy?
Mien Kampf was Hitler’s plan
The Quran is Muslim’s Mien Kampf
Muslims obey the Prophet
Follow the Quran
Kill the infidel
Encourage martyrdom
Martyr their children
Teach hatred
Issue fatwas
Muslims are the enemy
Muslims are at war now
Soon the bomb
Apocalypse
IS IT FAIR?
The Pope died.
He’s now with God.
The suicide bomber died.
He gets virgins.
When I die, I want women
With experience.
But what will I get?
Nothing.
You get what you pray for.
That’s fair
MY DILEMMA
Who are my people?
They were slaves in Egypt
Their temple was destroyed
They were Aliens in foreign lands
They endured Expulsions, Pogroms.
Inquisitions, Anti-Semitism
The Holocaust, Muslim terror
They fought to establish a Jewish state
My people have survived 6578 years
My people are Jews
Ultra-orthodox, Orthodox
Conservative, Reform
Humanist, Agnostic, Atheist
I am proud of my people
I am proud to be a Jew.
But I am a denier
I deny God’s relevance
I deny the Covenant
I deny Moses talked with God on Sinai
I deny God Parted the Red Sea
I deny God gave Moses the Commandments
If all my people are deniers
Can my people survive?
This is a denier’s dilemma.
This is my dilemma.
IN THE CLOSET
Rational men and women
Do not believe:
Bible is the word of God
Jesus was the Son of God
Koran was the last word of God
Mormon is God’s latest last word
Rational men and women do believe:
Universes are infinite in time and space
Men and women do not understand infinity
Rational men and women, declare your rationality
Come out of the closet
THE GIFTS
Judaism’s gifts to the world:
One God
The Torah
The Commandments
The rule of law
The Prophets
Hillel
Jesus
The Golden Rule
Mohammad
Maimonades
Joseph Smith
Karl Marx
Einstein
Freud
Salk
and
163 Nobel Prizes
Judaism, a gift that keeps on giving
Faith
Reason says bible is myth
Rational men know
God didn’t talk to Moses
Jesus was not God incarnate
Allah did not dictate the Koran to Muhammad
Yet intelligent and otherwise rational men
Substitute faith for reason
Pope John Paul was an intelligent man
He had faith and is now with god
Martyrs have faith and live in paradise
Bible promises resurrection
The faithful die with hope for the future
For the faithful
God is shepherd
Answers prayers
Comforts
Offers salvation
Atheists are rational
Atheists have no shepherd
No comforter
No salvation
No future
When atheists die, that’s it.
So be it
HATRED AND HOPE
Muslims hate us ever since
Sarah sent Ishmael away
That was six thousand years ago
They hate us to this very day.
Christians hate us ever since
Romans crucified their Christ
Gospels hold the Jews to blame
Claiming an evil Jewish tryst.
Spreading vicious Protocols lies
Accusing Jews of poisoning wells
Blaming the Jews for deadly plagues
Accusing Jews of evil blood libel
Denying the Nazi holocaust
Distorting the ancient Jewish Bible.
There’s little hope for lasting peace
For Jews in their Jewish State.
They can survive, may even thrive
In spite of vicious widespread hate.
REFLECTIONS ON THE INFINITY
Twenty, an atheist,
lying at the stern of a warship
in the Pacific Ocean,
gazing at a clear, cloudless night sky.
I saw an infinite universe.
I was overwhelmed, in awe.
if there is an infinite universe,
there must be an infinite source.
that source must be what
the prophets called God.
It is sixty years since I lay on that deck
and discovered the infinite universe.
I am still overwhelmed, in awe,
still an atheist.
.PASSOVER
What does Passover mean?
The Pesach symbols on a dish.
Kosher wine, the Seder feast,
Matzo balls, gefilte fish ?
But Pesach’s more than just a meal..
There’s an epic story to be told
Of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
The Hebrew Patriarchs of old.
There’s the story of Joseph’s brothers,.
Who envied his colored coat
They threw him in a deep cistern
Thinking he’d been smote.
Joseph lived and gained the throne
Beside the mighty Pharaoh’s seat.
And when the brother’s needed food
He gave them Egypt’s wheat.
Jacob came to Egypt
And his family multiplied,
Until a wicked Pharaoh
Enslaved all Jacob’s tribe.
Then wicked Pharaoh meant to kill
Ev’ry first-born Jewish son.
But Moses lived so he’d become
The Hebrew’s most important one.
The Pharaoh made us Jews his slaves,
That’s what the Bible stories say.
But Moses came to lead the Jews
Out from Egypt and harm’s way.
Moses gave his people
A code for all mankind to read,
Commandments etched by God in stone,
Rules for all mankind to heed.
We celebrate each Pesach
With prayer and hopes for peace.
May all men follow the Moses code.
May mankind’s love for peace increase.
PASSOVER
The Real Story
We know the Bible tales are myth,
That Joseph wasn’t Jacob’s son,
That Moses, an Egyptian prince,
Had one God Ra, the sun.
We tell the tale at Pesach
In prose and praises grand
Of how the Hebrews’ Moses
Led the Jews from Egypt’s land.
We wandered in the desert
‘til Moses thought us fit
To receive God’s Ten Commandments,
The One God’s holy writ.
We know the tale is fiction,
The laws weren’t etched in stone.
Moses wrote the laws by hand
He gave them to the Jews to own.
Not all the laws were new.
There were some from other times.
But the Jews preserved and kept the laws
For the sake of all mankind.
QUID PRO QUO
It’s quite easy to be a Jew
T’was nothing I chose to do
It’s just the way that I was born
Being born of the chosen few
Numbering now so very few
Jews should merit little mention
And yet they daily manage to get
Vicious anti-Semitic attention
Hateful accusations
Christ Killers, infidels all
Stiff necked, money changers
Blood libels and Zion Protocol
It‘s not fair. mostly lies, but
Jews don’t claim perfection
We know no one’s perfect
And Jews are no exception.
But note their contributions
For which there’s little credit
One God and Ten Commandments
Deserve a badge of merit.
Jews gave the world its sacred books
Complete with wisdom and myth.
Jews gave the world the Prophets
Moses, Jesus. Mohammed, and Smith.
There’s a moral to this poem
One you all should know
In life the Jews just can’t expect
To get fair quid pro quo
AM I A JEW?
A Jew believes in the God
who made Eve from Adam’s rib,
sent a flood,
parted the Red Sea,
led Israel out of Egypt,
chose the Jews
gave them Commandments,
fed them manna,
.I don’t believe in that God.
Am I a Jew?
When Jews beat back the Arab hordes
I was proud of those Jews,
proud of those people.
Those Jews are my people.
I am a Jew.
THAT GOD.
infinite universe
endless time
omnipotent
omniscient
creator god
if that god cared about us
if that god loved us
there would be no
holocausts
genocides
boy soldiers
tsunamis
wars
that god is not a caring god.
that god is not a loving god
that god doesn’t give a damn
WHAT’S TO BE EXPECTED?
No matter the causations
After generations of humiliations,
Occupations, subjugations, annexations
What’s to be expected?
Hate’s to be expected
By generations subjected
Security walls erected
Hemming in the disaffected.
Hatred can’t be unexpected.
With so much hate
Can peace prevail
Are we utterly doomed to fail?
Will more mourning mothers wail?
Is there a possible solution
For a peaceful resolution?
We can hope.
WHEN I WAS A BOY
At Christmas time
I got Hanukkah gelt,
A dreidl, chocolate money.
Christian kids got toys
Under Christmas trees.
I hated singing the carols.
“Come let us adore Him”.
Christian kids adored Him.
I didn’t adore him.
I hated him.
Of all the people in the world,
I was one of the few
Chosen to be a Jew,
A Christ killer, a dirty Jew.
Why me?
I’m grown up. Now I know
Jesus was a Jewish rabbi
Preaching radical Jewish ideas:
Love your enemies.
Turn the other cheek.
Do unto others.
Don’t lust.
Jesus preached as a Jew.
He died a Jew.
I am a Jew.
On reflection
I’m glad I was one
Of the chosen few.
APOLOGY
Death to the infidels!
Burn their embassies and flags!
How dare they mock our prophet!
Islam is a religion of tolerance and respect.
Death to those who deny Allah.
Death to those who draw images of Muhammad.
Death to the cartoonists!
Kill the Jews!
Muslims are men of peace.
The Muslims demand an apology.
An apology! For what shall we apologize?
For free speech, free press, freedom of religion?
To whom shall we apologize? The rioters? suicide bombers?
arsonists? deniers of human rights? holocaust deniers?
To those who threaten to finish what Hitler had begun?
Apologize? Not I
THE CARTOONS
A ticking bomb in Muhammad’s hat?
Why would someone think of that?
There were no bombs in Muhammad’s days
He slew the Jews in other ways.
The cartoons depicted the Prophet,
The founder of Islamic belief
And they mocked the ignorant Muslim
Who preaches hate and causes grief.
The cartoons state an honest truth.
Offending the suicide bombers who
Compete for entry to paradise
By killing the Zionist Jew.
WHAT TO DO?
Why are we still bashing Bush?
Look at all the wars he’s won.
He’s changed Iraq’s corrupt regime.
Bin Laden’s hiding on the run.
Iraq now has a constitution
The insurgency is bound to fail
Saddam Hussein is standing trial
He’ll spend the rest of life in jail.
Bush offers new retirement plans,
Tax benefits for the very rich
Drug plans that confuse us, and
We hardly know which plan is which.
The Patriot Act will be renewed
They’ll know what books we read.
Creation in biology class,
Is what our science students need.
No stem cells for research!
Who cares that miracle cures are lost?
Embryos are such precious lives, so
Into hazardous trash they‘re tossed
Whoring women having lustful sex,
Bear your babies and rejoice!
God made this world for righteous men.
No women’s rights! No women’s choice!
And what about those sinful gays?
George Bush proposed a marriage ban.
No wedding bells for lesbians,
No marriages for man to man
Forget past lies, and past mistakes.
Now what are we supposed to do?
Send more soldiers there to die?
Provide more body parts to strew?
There are options, though only a few:
Admit mistakes our country made or
Stay the course and see it through and
Pray George Bush knows what to do.
NOW &THEN
Irwin Garfinkle 9/21/2005
A blank page on my computer screen!
It’s my inquisitor, my cross-examiner
He waits for my answers.
Do I have a right to counsel?
Do I have Miranda rights?
I don’t know his questions, let alone the answers.
What the hell do you want?
My wisdom?
On matters of life and death?
I’ve lived eighty years.
But I’m not wise.
I know little of life and nothing of death.
I have nothing to say.
You’re going to hold me in contempt!
So, wait a minute, damn you.
Stop nagging while I’m trying to think!
Okay, here’s something.
Probably not the answers you’re looking for,
not visionary enough for you.
It’s the best I can do on short notice.
When young, I strove for the “good life”,
you know, money, power, sex.
That was Then.
But life is not Then.
Life is Now.
Good life, bad life, sickness, health, better, worse.
Now is life.
And what about death?
Beats me.
I guess death is future.
Death is not Now.
Whatever and whenever death is,
Now is not death.
That’s all I have to say.
You satisfied?
Oh damn! My computer screen has another blank page.
What the bleep do you want from me now?
I don’t know anything more.
So sue me. I plead the 5th.
CASEY
She sacrificed a son for him.
She wants to know why.
She wants to know
Her son did not die in vain,
That he died for a noble cause.
What was the noble cause?
To capture Osama Bin Laden?
To find weapons of mass destruction?
To free Iraq?
To establish an Islamic state?
To get Iraqi oil?
For which of these noble causes
Did Private Casey die?
His mother wants to know.
His mother has a right to know
DO NOT RESUSCITATE.
Irwin Garfinkle, 3/11/2005
Her cancers were in remission.
She worried she might live in pain.
She didn’t want to be a burden.
“Do not resuscitate”, she ordered.
“When it’s time, it’s time.
I’m ninety-one, ready to go.
No aggressive procedures”.
During an episode she thought,
”It’s time. I’m going to die”.
But then she pleaded
“Please! Don’t let me die.”
She lived five more years,
An invalid confined to bed.
She died in her sleep.
ELDERQUEST
Irwin Garfinkle 3/5/2006
Is this all there is?
Yes, this is it.
Life goes to a certain end
With an open date.
I can’t take it with me.
So what have I got?
No virgins, no resurrection,
No heaven, no hell. Oh well
Eighty is old, but don’t rush me,
I can wait for a later date.
I have things to do! I’m on a quest.
Don’t yet know what I’m questing for.
Maybe a published poem.
AT THE GATES OF BAGHDAD
Irwin Garfinkle 04/06/2003
We’re at the gates of Baghdad
The war will soon be ended.
Will we be their liberators?
Will Iraqis feel befriended?
Or will we be the infidels,
Invading for Iraqi oil?
Will they want their freedom
When Saddam’s gone from Arab Soil?
Our victory is near at hand.
We’ve routed the Palace Guard.
We’ll have the peace we’re fighting for,
Or will there be a new Jihad?
Winning the war but not the peace
After inflicting so much pain,
If an intifada should arise,
We may have fought the war in vain?
Time will tell.
TO LEONA
I AM WHAT I AM
I am what I am. I won’t change.
Don’t ask me. I’m set in my way.
I’m not perfect, nor am I ideal.
I am what I am; that’s how I’ll stay.
I know I have faults, don’t we all?
I will listen to every suggestion.
I have to do what I have to do
In spite a strong objection.
I am what I am and you know it.
I’ve tried to improve but I can’t
.You have to take me for what I am,
I won’t change, I can’t, I shan’t”
I’M NOT SMART
I’m not smart
But I’m not stupid
It doesn’t take an advanced degree
To know the world is round.
I learned this when my mother
Gave me a globe for my tenth birthday
Columbus learned this
When he sailed to America
And didn’t fall off.
I’m not smart
I can figure out a lot of things.
Though I can’t figure out how
Adam and Eve, Cain, Abel and Seth
Populated the whole world.
Something’s missing
That story must be just a story.
I’m not smart
But I know virgins
Don’t have babies
My daughter told me
She learned about that
In middle school
I’m not smart
I read about Jesus walking on water
Tried that a couple of times.
Good thing I can swim.
Won’t try that again
I’m not stupid
I’m not smart,
I know Moses and Muhammad
Didn’t; climb mountains
To talk to God or Allah
That Mary and Jesus didn’t ascend
That the worlds are billions of years old
How come presidential candidates
Don’t know what I know?
Are they stupid?
AN INVISIBLE MAN
“I need a tissue”, she said
So I kissed her.
That was funny
We laughed
Not always so funny
Can hear people talking, but
Don’t know what’s being said
So I don’t join the conversation and
I become an invisible man
What?
My Birthday
2/28/2006
Late last night
after my birthday party
tanks rumbled into town
soldiers rousted us from bed
ransacked the house
nothing found
mother hysterical
baby pressed to her breast
father is helpless
he is detained
not yet home
is it a wonder
I hate the Jews?
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
March 25, 2003
Let the games begin.
It’s not a John Wayne movie.
It’s not a World Series thriller.
It’s not our team in the Super Bowl.
It is War.
The soldiers go off to front.
We turn to CNN; we wait for the games to start.
We keep score as events unfold.
We’re ahead. Hooray!
War on TV is fun.
Our troops cannot be stopped.
No defense can hold our team.
We cheer them on: rah, rah, sis booms bah.
War on TV is fun.
But war is not a game.
Rush Limbaugh’s cheerleaders
Spout their jingo zeal
Don’t they know that war is real?
War is Shock and Awe.
War is not a game.
War is not settled at the OK Corral,
Or with a last of the ninth homerun.
War is Shock and Awe.
In war, enemies die. In war, friends die.
War is not a game.
THE POETRY WRITERS CLASS
5/1/2006
M y classmates are upset with me
Claim I’m politically incorrect
Though I said the honest truth
I failed to show Muslim respect.
They want a poem with my usual humor
They objected to my pessimist views.
They’d rather I’d optimistically write
Of peace between the Muslims and Jews.
It’s no joke about Irani Nukes,
They solemnly promise to erase the Jews
Threaten Muslim Jihad worldwide
Threaten to light a nuclear fuse.
Nevertheless I’ll do my best
To introduce some humor in rhyme.
I’ll start with Bush, Delay and Rove
Cheney, Liddy, Republican slime.
On second thoughts, they aren’t funny.
They went to war with a pack of lies.
Without a plan they marched and bombed
Without a care of the mothers’ cries.
So what’ll I do? My sex life’s funny
But who in the world be interested?
Maybe I’ll write an old dirty joke,
But a dirty joke would be protested.
So there’s to be no humor this day,
My detested poems will stay detested.
So be it.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
April 10, 2004
In full flight gear, helmet in hand,
He landed on the deck at sea.
And leaping from the jet, declared
“Mission accomplished! Iraq is free!”
The fighting’s done, our men have won.
They call us evil occupiers,
Invading just for Arab oil,
They say we’re Western infidels.
They want us off their Muslim soil.
Did we not set them free?
And so the peace is not yet won.
Insurgents’ daring ambush raids
Kill and maim our valiant men
With roadside bombs and hand grenades.
MY MOTHER
Irwin Garfinkle May 8, 2005
My mother was just my mother
Stay-at-home mom, kitchen gourmet.
Managing the Garfinkle’s home,
Caring for us all in every way.
Sent Jack, her husband off to work,
Hearty breakfast for me and Mel
Then off to school the two of us
In time before the school’s first bell.
We had a maid, a country girl
Who lived with us and helped our Ma,
Watched over us and did house chores
While Ma worked for Youth Aliah
Business reversals. Pa needed help.
So no more maid. Ma just did more
From nine to nine, beside her man
She worked with Jack at his retail store.
It wasn’t bad. We all pitched in.
It was the least we boys could do.
Dinner waiting when they came home
We did the chores, our school work, too.
Then World War II, we boys left home,
Mel with the army’s fighting teams,
Me with the Navy Training Corps,
Ma with nightmares, and violent dreams.
Ma was joyful, when we came home
Unscarred by the perils of war.
She was saddened by those families
Who sadly hung a son’s gold star.
No more at war, she prayed for peace
For country and her family.
Her sons took wives and left the home.
She prayed that they’d live happily.
Work at the store filled the empty nest.
She had charge of her own department.
No longer just a stay at home mom,
She marveled how fast her days were spent.
Death then took an untimely toll,
First Jack, then Mel and Mel’s son Mark.
The store was closed and Ma retired.
She was now alone. Her life turned dark.
Mel had worked with Ma and Pa.
While I was a thousand miles away
So when Pa died, Mel took his place
Mel worked with Ma most every day.
Ma mourned for Jack until Mel died.
Then she mourned for her son
After Mark, Ma could mourn no more
New life for her was then begun.
I thought my Ma now needed me
She refused to move into my home.
She said she valued privacy
And she decided to live alone.
Ma moved to senior housing
Where each day’s usual needs were met
She visited us several times a year
Told me don’t worry, and not to fret.
Of course I had deep feelings of guilt,
Not there to care for my Ma
But she had her independence
And that was best for Ma by far.
She suffered a fatal heart attack
I rushed to be at her side
She spoke to me of her happy life
And soon thereafter she died.
She was a wonderful mother,
a loving wife and
a strong independent woman,
whom I remember with love.
MY LOSING SEASON
2/25/2005
We hadn’t won a football game.
Our record was seven and 0
Bill Jefferson just couldn’t play
His grades were much too low.
In time for the Reading game
Bill raised his grades so he could play
In the game with our hated foe
To be played Thanksgiving day.
Stoneham was cast as underdog
Reading was favored to win.
And with Bill as our quarterback
Our hopes were riding on him.
My parents came to see me play
They‘d never seen me play before.
They only worried I might get hurt
They didn’t care about the score.
I sat on Stoneham’s bench
A substitute right guard,
Waiting for the coach to say,
“Irwin, go in. Play hard.”
In the opening plays of the game
Bill Jefferson ran for a score.
Then got hurt, out of the game
Stoneham could score no more.
Our defense held Reading scoreless.
Stoneham had its only win.
The coach sent in no substitutes
He never said to me “go in”.
I knew coach wanted to put me in;
This was my senior year
He knew my folks were in the stands
Ready to yell and cheer.
Stoneham won! Oh happy day,
Yet my parents didn’t see me play.
My heart was broken at game’s end
I felt no joy for this greatest day.
Beating arch rival, Reading
Was momentous for good reason
It lifted the spirits of our team,
But for me that game,
Was my losing season.
NOBODY
once
I was somebody
now I’m old
a nobody
preaching to old nobodies
is there a somebody here?
war
jihad
anarchy
perhaps a nobody has solutions
but nobody listens
to a nobody.
NATIONAL GUARD
Handsome recruiters
Exciting Benefits
Extra pay
College tuition
Career training
War games
Playing soldier
Weekend warriors
Weekend fun
Weekend heroes
Real war
No more games
No playing soldier
Insurgency
Suicide bombs
Bloodshed
Dead comrades
Dismembered bodies
The stink of war
Real heroes
NO GOODBYE
she was late
a knock on the door
not coming home
how? where? when?
no difference
in an instant
no warning
gone
I was alone
in pain
40 years
shared space
shared joys
shared sorrows
shared love
suddenly alone
no goodbye
AMERICA’S CHOSEN
We chose a Man who hears God’s voice,
God told the Man he was God’s choice.
Is that not reason to rejoice?
It’s a miracle, if not absurd.
The Chosen Man heard God’s true Word.
I was listening. I never heard.
.
Was he a Man that heaven sent?
The chosen Man’s now president.
He knows he knows what God’s word meant.
The president has four more years
Many people are shedding tears
Because of their foreboding fears,
Fears the voice he hears means war,
A Muslim war with martyrs galore,
A war that sensible men abhor.
So with the Man we rise and pray.
Stand up and cheer hip, hip, hooray!
God’s on the side of the USA.
God, can I hear you now?
TRUE LOVE AGAIN.
I was shy, and late maturing
I tried, but girls paid me no heed
At last I loved and married
One who filled my every need.
But alas, I became a widower
Lonely and wallowing in grief
When matchmakers all conspired
To make my widowhood brief
My cousin didn’t know Leona
Her aunt Charlotte didn’t know me
They thought I’d be a very good catch
That we would make the perfect match.
A good catch? A perfect match?
Well, it seems they got it right
Fourteen years together
She’s my princess, I’m her knight. Right?
TWO BOYS
One boy went to cheder
Learned aleph, bet, gimmel.
Memorized his haphtarah
Made a speech in shul
His parents called him a man.
He counted bar mitzvah presents.
One boy went to a mosque
Was taught Shahada
Learned hatred
Killed for Allah
His parents called him a Shahid
He never counted presents.
LET US PRAY
The all knowing, omnipotent God
found only one man worth saving
and drowned the rest in a flood.
The all knowing, omnipotent God
found no one worth saving in Sodom and Gomorra,
not even an innocent child.
The all knowing and omnipotent God
watched the slaughter of eleven million,
including six million of his chosen people.
The all knowing omnipotent God
created a tsunami and drowned
untold thousands of innocent Asians.
Who does this God think he is?
God thinks he created the universe,
But man created God.
God is out of control. “So, God, you’re fired.”
We’ve created a new God to protect us.
We call our new God Aflac.
Let us pray.
HOORAY FOR OUR SIDE.
The invasion was a cakewalk.
The Republican Guard was humbled.
Nothing stopped our troops’ advance.
Iraqi defenses crumbled.
Our troops are all accounted for.
No one is missing in action.
The daring rescue of Jennifer Lynch
Brought national satisfaction.
We proved to the evil axis
We’re the Masters of all we survey.
We have the smartest weapons
Their guns are just child’s play.
Now the fighting war is over.
We must restore tranquility.
I hope our fighting men of war.
Have peace making ability.
The entire world is watching
While our leaders smirk and prance?
I wonder when our troops go home,
Will Iraqis cry, or will they dance?
WHAT WENT WRONG?
A beautiful, sensitive boy.
Handsome and. bright, happy and strong.
Committed and loving parents.
There was so much promise! What went wrong?
Were we too strict, too permissive?
Did we provide more than we should?
The rule of reason was our rule.
We wanted him to reach manhood.
We sought answers; we got advice.
Were there signs we might have missed?
We tried so hard, perhaps too hard
Though now he’s grown, we still persist.
Always the parents fault they say.
You can hear them on talk radios.
We did our best and yet we failed.
We don’t know why. Nobody knows?
So what is a parent to do?
All grown up with kids of his own,
Give him more love, another chance,
Or let him reap the seeds he’s sown.
APOCALYPSE
Hitler is dead
Stalin’s Evil Empire has fallen
The Axis of Evil is contained
The Hindus are building cities
Protocols of Zion are a forgery
The Chinese are becoming capitalists
Buddhists seek serenity
What is there to fear?
Is there an enemy?
Mien Kampf was Hitler’s plan
The Quran is Muslim’s Mien Kampf
Muslims obey the Prophet
Follow the Quran
Kill the infidel
Encourage martyrdom
Martyr their children
Teach hatred
Issue fatwas
Muslims are the enemy
Muslims are at war now
Soon the bomb
Apocalypse
Two Boys
Ellen Huber thinks I really am a poet. Thanks Ellen! She asked me to publish this one.
TWO BOYS
One boy went to cheder
Learned aleph, bet, gimmel.
Memorized his haphtarah
Made a speech in shul
His parents called him a man.
He counted bar mitzvah presents.
One boy went to a mosque
Was taught Shahada
Learned hatred
Killed for Allah
His parents called him a Shahid
He never counted presents.
TWO BOYS
One boy went to cheder
Learned aleph, bet, gimmel.
Memorized his haphtarah
Made a speech in shul
His parents called him a man.
He counted bar mitzvah presents.
One boy went to a mosque
Was taught Shahada
Learned hatred
Killed for Allah
His parents called him a Shahid
He never counted presents.
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