And he said, “Are you [indeed] my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.”
–Genesis 27:24
I like to think of myself as part of the team
of good guys (ladies included) with good beliefs
that are good for, not just me, but all the humans.
I sometimes forget the foundation of this comes from
a first family who tossed a brother into a pit,
swindled an inheritance for a bowl of stew
and featured a mother and second son
colluding to steal a birthright. From what I read
Esau was not the right person for the job
so, apparently, something had to be done.
In this case with a disguise and lies, plus
a meal of tasty foods.
Either the wrong or right guy got the blessing
depending on which side of the aisle you’re on.
And everything Jewish that’s happened since then
rides on the back of this deception. I think
Esau and Isaac deserve an apology. I think Esau
should at least have gotten a chance to get it wrong.
I think of the danger of stolen elections. I think
of the danger of just saying an election was stolen.
I think about who used to be in charge and
who put them there. I think everyone deserves better.
I think everyone deserves the very best. I think
a lot of people don’t think the way I think.
I am surprised at the way some people think.
At the things they’ll do to make things happen.
At the way the world somehow continues to turn
despite all of it.
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 26 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 “I Am Not Writing a Book of Poems in Hawaii” (Poems written in Hawaii – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2022) 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.
