From Memo to Self by Ruth Lewis:
Lizards
I have been as one
who tovels
while clutching,
clasping,
grasping
many lizards.
Loathsome, lurid green,
reptilian.
As one truly seeking purity
but unable to unpry my
stiff, reluctant fingers
from those long-tailed,
long-loved
lizards.
Spiny, slimy,
slithery,
slick, sick,
leathery
lizards.
But now,
slowly, slowly,
I unpry my still-stiff fingers,
one by one.
At long last, loosening my hold,
letting go of my beloved lizards
one by one,
learning to live life
lizardless
and pure.
-Dixie Yid
(Picture courtesy of gregandsarina)
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5 comments:
I like this. Lizards..never heard them referred to as lizard’s before. I have a big box full of lizards but when I open the lid to let them go they just sit there wanting to be fed.
Freddie, see this link for more info on the source of this sin/vermin/lizard comparison as it relates to immersing in the mikvah for greater purity.
http://hearos.blogspot.com/2008/03/nedarim-75b-tovel-vsheretz-byado.html
-Dixie Yid
I know of a Rav who likes that poet!
how did you get that book! Rav Weinberger quotes her in shiurim alot but it seems like its 100% out of print nowehere to be found. Is there anywhere I could get a copy?
It's actually quite a story how we found it. When we lived in Des Moines at the Kollel there, we brought Rav Weinberger out between cities during a speaking tour. When speaking to the kollel he quotes one of her poems but said that he didn't have his copy of the book anymore because he'd lent it out but not gotten it back. So as a way of saying thank you for coming out to Des Moines, my wife tracked down two copies of the book online (used, because like you said, it's out of print) . We gave one copy to Rav Weinberger (so IY"H the copy that he's using now came from us!) and kept one copy for ourselves. If you want tot get it, you just have to search at online outlets like half.com, ebay and amazon.com. Hatzlacha raba!
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