“Fear not,” they preached to me
But most were still afraid
“Inner peace,” they chanted
Outer chaos is what came
“Salaam,” they sang, before killing the Jews
I’m a faithful man, but I
See why some can’t choose.
The lost are left searching while
Inquisitors dogpile
They push seekers away before getting close
The logs in their eyes repellent and gross
Lies really hurt and truth really heals
But don’t listen at the televangelist’s door
Or you’ll hear young, girlish squeals.
No wonder milk’s on the plate
When the menu said meat
People asking why youth want a different seat
In another restaurant, or maybe none at all.
If you do well, lift up
Or else sin crouches at the door
Can we rob the grave of its treasures
And not linger in the dark?
A cold wind wants to extinguish your spark.
Milk makes not meek, the strong increasingly weak
The future seems hopelessly bleak –
Can a deep voice speak?
True love has a name,
and it could be yours, or mine
If we abide in the first name
The one that was here first
From cradle to hearse
Chapter and verse
Alef to tav
Alpha, Omega
Except there is no end for what endures the flame
But the people of the book denigrate scholars
Vanity, vanity
The cure’s left in the hall
Outside the room of a dying girl.
He stands at the door and knocks,
But a crowd of people bearing His name
Hold the way shut, and loudly proclaim
That He’s told them what to say.
“Be afraid,” they whisper
Some ask for money
The exceptions are vibrant
But the crowd is thick
The gap’s the size of a needle’s eyelet
When Mammon is my copilot.
“Where is your semikhah?” someone once wrote
The crier bears witness from the depths of his throat
And God gave him breath
To give away joy among merchants of death.
So lament; don’t despair
Love dethroned the prince of the air
So stop bowing to him, and fight
Look into empty, watery chaos
And say, “Let there be light!”
A New Perspective 