It’s Always Been Unicorns — A poem for Torah Portion Vezot Hab’rachah

and with the sweetness of the produce of the sun,
and with the sweetness of the moon’s yield
-Deuteronomy 33:14

The day and night are different
and both bring their own blessings.
Do not curse the evening, for without it
cucumbers would never arrive in your salad.
Do not curse the day, for without it
your skin would be as pale us a unicorn.
If you’re going to get mad at any time of day
I suggest the dusk. It has a thick skin
and by the time you’re done talking
it will have turned out your lights.

and through the contentment of the
One Who dwells in the thornbush
-Deuteronomy 33:16

God is in a thornbush.
God is in a thornless bush.
God is the thorns.
God is the salve that soothes the thorn’s prick.
God is the one who makes you giggle when
you hear words that have many meanings.
God is the complete lack of words
that leaves you guessing.
God is the one who won’t tell you
if the unicorn exists.
God is the one who exists, though
people argue about that
all the time.

His horns are the horns of a re’em.
With them, he will gore peoples together
-Deuteronomy 33:17

We’re reminded every year
that unicorns exist, but this is
the first year I’ve noticed
they’re out for blood.

Los 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 25 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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.