a god

Once there was a god who opened his mouth,
parted his forehead and widened his lips
the whole world opened. The upper lip was the horizon,
and the waterline, walking distance.
Between presence and absence,
he held the void and eternity
in his hands, pulled them open;
his mouth aimed at space, he stretched his lips
asked and answered
was present and left

A misleading breeze
shifts between the noble voice
and the playful echo
repeating
sit down you odd girl – breathe, write,
tell yourself the truth
that is not, …

Grace After Meals

My father stands over the pots
in my house, baking sweet potatoes,
giving me back the taste
of a world where mothers still exist.

His hands slice thin answers
to my …

Kanafeh

I am alone, sitting in a restaurant in Jerusalem.
I order a Kanafeh for me and my friend—
who never arrives. The waiter makes a noise when
he puts the …

1. Opening, from The Burden of Nisan

The poem carried her
through time

she lay reading on the balcony
on a sun-wombed border

a chrysanthemum ignited
the garden’s actuality
a well of gravity

birdsong harpooned the air

even her mother was …

March Poetry Curator Marcela Sulak

Translation Is an Act of Generosity and Passion

Marcela Sulak is the author of several books of poetry, nonfiction, and translation. She directs Bar-Ilan University’s graduate program in creative writing and edits the Ilanot Review. Zócalo’s March curator …