fbpx

Too Dark – a poem for Torah Portion Bo

[additional-authors]
January 30, 2020

And the darkness will become darker

It got so dark in Egypt.
How dark they’re shouting
from the audience.

I’d like to press the invert button
on this piece of paper to show you.
But even then there’d be

specs of light where the letters
give you false hope. The one
where you couldn’t move

from your place for three days.
Imagine how dark it became
in your stomach.

Too many poems use the word
dark. Or maybe we needed one more.
It’s embarrassing to be sheltered

in a speck of light, when
outside the door, They’re about
to take the children away.


God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created the Poetry Super Highway (an online publication and resource for poets), and hosted the Cobalt Cafe weekly poetry reading for almost 21 years. He’s authored 23 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “I’m a Jew, Are You” (Jewish themed poems) and “Feeding Holy Cats” (Poetry written while a staff member on the first Birthright Israel trip), and most recently “Hunka Hunka Howdee!” (Poems written in Memphis, Nashville, and Louisville – Ain’t Got No Press, May 2019) and edited the anthologies “Ekphrastia Gone Wild”, “A Poet’s Haggadah”, and “The Night Goes on All Night.” He writes the daily web comic “Cat and Banana” with fellow Los Angeles poet Brendan Constantine. He’s widely published and reads his poetry wherever they let him.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

A Night of Gratitude Honoring Dennis Prager

Latest Articles

The F-Bomb

The term “f-bomb” has become obsolete. The one-time shocker is so common that it’s more of an f-firecracker.

The Reunion

When I reunite with my parents, I imagine it will go something like this.

Declaring Our Independence

If neither of the nation’s two dominant political parties is willing to commit to us, then we are under no obligation to commit to them.

Our New Mayor Has a Genocide Problem

If Nithya Raman is serious about making Jews feel safe, it’s time for her to set an example and correct the lie of the century.  Don’t just do it for the Jews. Do it for the truth.

Rabbi Stan Levy, 1941-2026

His work was to lift-up those in need, support the downtrodden and, particularly, respond with a compassionate heart to the many Holocaust Survivors who lived in the Fairfax District.

A Popular Skewer Recipe

There is a benefit of roasting food on skewers, à la shish kebab. By cutting meat and vegetables into smaller uniform pieces, the marinade coats more and the food cooks evenly.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.