Veteran pal and literary maven, Ruti Eastman, writes in her newest collection of poetry, 'Reflections on the Simchat Torah/Swords of Iron War':
“So here are the poems I wrote as this horrible war progressed. They are about my feelings regarding my children and the sacrifices they and their families were making, about the children of others, about those who were against us simply because we are Jews, though they cleverly convinced themselves that they were only against us because we have better weapons and bomb shelters. They conveniently ignored facts on the ground about how our enemies spent world tax dollars and donations, not in protecting their innocent civilians, but in attempting to murder ours. I also wrote about the small kindnesses that kept me hanging on and believing that the world would be beautiful again.”
Listen: I don't know from poetry. I don't know from rhyme, meter, cadence, allusion - hell - I can barely cobble together haiku, let alone lyrics of the heart and head - especially when the heart and head are mine.
But it’s like she reaches in through the Psychic Friends Hotline and reads my soul like an urgent WhatsApp message about what this war has been like and left imprinted on our collective DNA and individual souls.
Annnnnd, this rocket alert came in—literally—as I was typing the paragraph above:
That's kinda’ how her poetry hits me: real, risky, catching you from where you didn't see it coming. This—again, literally—has been part of my direct, personal reality for over a year—and, again, she read my mind and heart:
There's more—lots and lots more—but you'll have to read it all for yourself when it's released. I’ll update this post when it’s good to go, both in print and as an e-book.
Ruti Eastman, author of “Wake Me When October’s Finally Over”
Meaningful poetry. Loved the still life - Fruit with Dog tags.