Alphabet City

I am very proud to post here a collaboration between two talented poets: 
David ben Alexander and Michael Simonelli.  

Their poem "GMT+2, or: In the Mean Time"
is in the form of a Chagallian loku.  

David & Michael, thank you for your support.   ---CC

GMT+2, or: In the Mean Time
Jerusalem taupe,
winter khamsin northward streams dark sands through our glass,
one sand pebble left in the clock’s tapered shadow,
sere wind breaks our wing

somewhere now where God rests
dunes caress with downy fill, eternal grains here,
graceful echelon, mosaics carved, rarefied
stars align to coasts

the world from the clouds,
squiggly fractal boundaries in between people,
morning groggy-eyed sunrise through stretched acrylic
grounded in promise

directional signs,
herd animals jostle on, can’t forget baggage,
travelators scoot well past the red-eye's runway,
each with life in tow

sandstorm rocks taxi,
clouds all that is visible, the expectant shift,
meter stops running, zero beats to the measure,
vantage no longer

family concern,
guests gather at synagogue, Tel Aviv sunset,
the anxious await break of accident reports,
frozen winter dreams

Eilat in winter:
warm honeymoon on Red Sea, chilly salt water
waves, oceanic time curves around large bodies
at scale, we’re smallest

rare snowfall settles,
Israeli children cheer, sheer slush by morning
cold rains bring green, sprouts, plants, blooms, before springtime warmth,
allergy triggers

spring still comes each year,
rebirth, salted brine-gray fog, pied balloons aloft

David ben Alexander & Michael Simonelli, 2022