It’s 9:00 on a Wednesday evening.

I write a sad poem (Masks) that I’m proud of and that I appreciate.

But my work has just begun, for now I must find a sad painting to pair with my poem.

I go to Wikimedia Commons and scan through a good number of works of art.

This piece of art must be in the public domain or the Times of Israel (TOI) won’t publish the painting with my poem.

The piece of art must fit into the TOI picture format or I can’t use it.

I find Walter Langley’s work  entitled, “Never Morning Wore To Evening. but Some Heart Did Break”

This title eminates from a Tennyson’s poem In Memoriam.

It meets TOI‘s criteria.

And Langley has created one hell of a sad painting.

I smile.

I had never heard of Walter Langley nor had I ever seen any of his art.

I study Langley’s life and many of his paintings.

And I appreciate him and them.

And I smile for I’m continuing my art education.

But I am not done.

I decide to have a sound track for my poem.

I want a musical background that will cause my reader’s ears to cry to my words.

So I search on YouTube.

And I find Naruto—Sadness and Sorrow (Violin Cover) by Taylor Davis composed by Toshio Masuda.

I have never heard Sadness and Sorrow, nor read Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, nor listened to Taylor Davis, nor heard a work by Toshio Masuda.

But I study them all.

I learn that Naruto is a Japanese manga series about a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers.

I appreciate the music, the violin playing and the ninja’s need to seek recognition from his peers.

And I smile for I’m continuing my musical education.

At 12:00 am, I submit my poem to TOI accompanied by the sad music and the sad art.

At 9:00 on a Thursday morning. my house is quiet.

My dog decides to give barking and howling a break.

I unplug my iPhone, click on Facebook’s  “F” icon and start reading my notifications.

Barack O. Mandela comments:

“This poem (Masks) reminds me of the famous American poets Allen Ginsberg and Walt Whitman. Perhaps publish a book of poetry.”

I smile.

My day is made.

This lowly Times of Israel blogger has had one of his poems compared to the works of Allen Ginsberg.

Yes, that Ginsberg:

The writer of “Howl” and “Kaddish for Naomi Ginsberg” fame;

The humorist who referred to his parents as “old-fashioned delicatessen philosophers.”;

The leader in the Beat literature movement;

The Jew who converted to Buddhism;

The author of Confessional poetry;

The winner of the National Book Award and the Robert Frost medal;

The speaker at the convention in Chicago in 1968.

I saw him there but I cannot remember what he said.

I read “Howl” and “Kaddish” in college and tried to understand them.

And Allen Ginsberg read and loved Whitman’s works in high school.

And yes, this lowly Times of Israel blogger has had one of his poems compared to the works of Walt Whitman.

Yes, that Walt Whitman:

The poet, essayist and journalist;

The father of free verse;

The father of modern American poetry;

Author of “Leaves of Grass” and “Song of Myself and “O Captain! My Captain!”

The man whose face adorns two U.S. stamps. A five-cent stamp from 1940 (Famous American Series) and a 85-cent stamp from 2019 (Literary Arts Series) The stamp is painted by Sam Weber. In 1961, I held the five cent ultramarine stamp in my stamp collection.

The 2019 stamp shows a hermit thrush sitting on a lilac branch from Whitman’s poem, “When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloomed” written as an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln.

Well, Barack O. Mandela your words of comparison made all of my hard work payoff.

I howl my appreciation.

Thanks for giving this lowly Times of Israel blogger a life.

Thumbs up:

Sara Kejt;

Walt Whitman? Bob Dylan perhaps? Way to go! —Elaine Braffman

Thanks for your emails.–Irv Rosenfeld;

David Pereda;

John M. Misner;

Djmohamed Malok;

Once again an A but this one is unique, a step above. I love your blend of words, music, and art. The best. And who wouldn’t like their poetry to be said in the same breaths as AG and WW—Ricki Dorn

Richard Cohen;

Lynne Porter;

Adele Nest;

Alicia Kay Gelfond-Holtz

Connie Goodman-Milone;

Shiv Miradito;

Barbara Feldman;

Marc Janoson;

James Sciullo–Thanks, I believe that is a collector item;

Carol Hoffman;

Judy Zakarin;

Villons Tiwari;

Mona Perlman;

John Holmes—Nice,

Joanne Goldstein—Wonderful:

Laurie Lungen Handel

Glenn Ogden;

Perry Yaver;

Good to read your writing.— Marianne Holmes

Louis Lowy.

Walking through the parking lots of life

observing discarded castaways floating on seas of gravel.

Protectors shown the contempt of mistreated hookers

thrown to the curbside.

Protectors covered in a soft brown layers of dust

await collection to trash heaps

or burial mounds of leaves.

Uncovering the truth

on how shabbily we treat the old and the useless.

Broken soldiers on cement fields

battle relics evoking wounds of sadness.

Weather-beaten by torrents of rain

colors faded—bleeding red, black and blue onto our streets.

The cigarette butts of our time floating down our gutters.

How we treat the things we no longer need, nor want, nor desire, nor love.

No flag burial for these message-laden pieces of cloth.

No crypt

No cremation

No respect.

Just distain.

Thumbs up:

Barack O. Mandela—This poem reminds meof famous American poets Allen Ginsberg and Walt Whitman. Perhaps publish a book of poetry.

Judy Zakarin;

Poetry put to music is a song, this is a dark piece, sing the song.—David Paulsen

Joanne Goldstein;

Ricki Dorn–Interesting twist

music is always good

poetry is always good

together they are good….always.

Perry Yaver;

John M. Misner;

Ellen Straton;

As usual—Wonderful— Elaine Braffman

Laurie Lungen Handel;

Good to read your writing.—Marieanne Holmes

Ken Mednick—Wow….is all.

I laid in bed tossing and turning.

“Why, you may ask.

Why weren’t you able to fall asleep?”

Well, my upper left arm ached, throbbed and was warm to the touch.

Yup, you guessed it.

I got my booster shot.

“Didn’t the pharmacist give you a heads up?”

Yup, she warned me, “Your booster might cause a reaction. Take two Tylenol before you go to bed.”

Yup, I listened and took two Tylenol before hitting the sack.

Yup, you’re right, “It takes time for those pills to kick in.”

So sleep escaped me and pain ruled the night.

So I had time to reflect on something.

My aching arm yelled, “Think about Covid!”

Who can argue with an aching left arm?”

Not me.

Do you recall, in the early Covid days, when some jerks said, “The coronavirus is was going to disappear in a week.”

Well, you and I knew better, so I went on an expedition to find the most highly protective masks in the world.

You guessed it—N-95s.

You remember, what a pain in the ass it was to find quality masks.

Well, I was late to the hunt and paying the price.

I remembered my frustration when I asked the cashiers in numerous drugstores, “Miss, got any N-95 masks left?”

“Sorry sir, we’re all sold out.”

But I was on a mission.

A mission to obtain masks for my whole family.

A life-saving mission to protect my family.

As I got in my car I said, “Think outside of the box. Who else needs N-95 masks?

You guessed it.

My next stop, Home Depot, where a helpful clerk pointed to the paint aisle and said, “Go to the paint brush section, you might find some over there.”

My eyes lit up like a sinner who has found the Lord.

I found a full box.

G-d is good.

I know you can’t believe my luck.

A whole box!

I was as ecstatic as a fly in a Waffle House.

I grabbed the N-95s—not considering its cost—and headed to check-out.

I held on to them so tightly, fearing a crazed mob of mask vandals would try to rip them out of my hands.

Where did I go next?

You guessed it.

Fed Ex, where I divvied up the masks and sent them to the kids.

I relished the role of family protector.

And now the Tylenol kicked in.

My throbs and aches subsided.

My warm arm cooled.

My dreams vanquished the pain and solitude ruled the night.

Times of Israel 23 Comments

24. Thumbs up.—Nicolas