HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER

I once knew a woman
who got away with murder
and when it came time
for her
to meet
her Maker
she simply plead
not guilty
Your Honor
by reason of
Insanity

and off she went
scot free...

Jack H. Markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa
2017

Lost In Traffic

Like Amelia Earhart

She disappeared

From my life

To parts unknown

Lost forever

To the foggy mists

Of dementia…

She was a lifelong

Source of inspiration

And encouragement

Until

Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Took her away from

All that she loved

And from all those

Who loved her back

During our last conversation

She was riding in her car

With her adult daughter

Driving through thick

Old fashioned

New York City

Rush hour gridlock

Never to be heard from again

Ground Control to Amelia

Ground Control to Amelia

Come in Amelia

There is so much more

That I want to say

So much more

That I want to share

To no avail

On the radio

Nothing but static

Fair thee well

Blyth spirit

Bird thou never wert

Amen

Jack H. Markowitz

Philadelphia, Pa

IT IS AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK

IT IS AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK

It is an impossible task

To keep a woman happy

Though we men

Do all that we can

To fulfill their every

Need and desire

But no matter

How hard we try

To fill their

Bottomless pits

A man has

Only so much of himself

That he can give

And once he has utterly

Poured himself out

His strength and virility spent

She puts him out to pasture

If he is lucky

Or to a lunatic bin

If he is not

Jack H. Markowitz

Philadelphia, pa

Lonely As A Cloud 
 

I find it odd

that the expression

"Not a cloud in the sky"

Seems to have become
a metaphor
to mean

“no cares ...no worries"
eh mate?

 

But not for me...

The emptiness of a
clear blue sky
only serves
to make me feel
all the more sad.

Instead of nothing

I would prefer to see

a vast marina

and a whole flotilla

of boats and ships

of every sort

with their great

white sheets of sail

filled to bursting

with every seminal gust

of the gallant wind

as they go gliding along

in stark silhouette against

the multitudinous hues

of the celestial canvas

I would prefer to see

massive ice bergs

drifting slowly along

in the sky oceanic

harbingers of the next

impending storm

I much prefer

to feel the sting of

the wind and the rain…

To feel the whiplash

of the unleashed deluge…

To flinch at the crackling snap

of the flashed lightening

and the sudden crash of thunder…

and to gratefully
and joyfully receive
the heavy fat droplets
of the sacred rain
the doubly blessed rain
that is now falling and

splashing
and spilling
with such reckless abandon

against my upturned cheeks… 

But then again…

Maybe that's just me...eh?

 

jack h. markowitz

Philadelphia, Pa. 2016

 

 

It's A Tangle

It's a tangle
a bramble
a briar patch
a thicket
a web
with thorns
lots of thorns

I am tangled up
my horns
caught
trapped
knotted up

I pull and struggle
I paw the ground
I twist
this way and that
to no avail

night is coming
the wolves are howling
I am the prey
they know it
I know it
and now
so do you

Philadelphia, Pa. 2016

The Birth of Israel

November 29, 1947

Millions of Jews the whole world over

Hold their breath

Huddled around their radios

Straining to hear the latest bit of news

Hoping against hope

That the 20th century

The bloodiest of them all

Might still hold the seeds of promise

For a tired people

An ancient people

A wounded people

Fresh from the killing fields of Europe.

The United Nations meets to decide the fate of the Jews!

For or against partition of Palestine and the Yeshuv!

Australia votes yes!

Egypt votes no!

America votes yes!

Jordan votes no!

Canada votes yes!

Syria votes no!

Argentina abstains!

Chile abstains!

United Kingdom abstains!

A million Jewish hearts beat as one!

Then, suddenly, the final vote tally is taken!

Thirty three for, thirteen against, ten abstain!

Like a thunderclap from the heavens!

Partition wins!

There are to be two states!

One Jewish, one Arab!

Hope is reborn!

The Jewish People again have a homeland at last!

After two thousand years of exile!

A Jewish homeland at last!

Hope!

Hope renewed!

Hope restored!

With the simple stroke of a pen

Hope, Hatikvah, again triumphs over despair!

No more need Jewish children

Shake and tremble in their beds

Homeless no more!

Stateless no more!

Powerless no more!

 

Cheering and crying

Dancing in the streets of Tel Aviv!

The world has changed

The tide has shifted!

 

From out of the ashes of Auschwitz

The Jewish Phoenix has arisen!

Resurrection! Redemption!

Shout it from the roof tops of Jerusalem and Haifa!

Shout it from the valleys of Galilee

And the orange groves of Jaffa!

Shout it from the mountaintops of Mt. Sinai and Mt. Hermon!

Am Chai Yisroel!

The Jewish People live!

 

jhmarkowitz

Philadelphia, Pa. 2010

 

I Took A Shower Today

I took a shower today

I felt the need for expiation
For salvation

It was worth a shot

Nothing else that I do

Or have done

Seems to be working 

I have come to believe

That sin

In all of its many

 Manifestations and variations

 Is at the root of all disease

Health is wealth
Sickness is sin 

After the shower

I felt better

Cleaner

As for the expiation of

All of my sins

No

None of that

But as I said before

It was worth a shot

PS -Where is John the Baptist
When you really need him?

Jhmarkowitz

Philadelphia, 2014