Hello. I promise.
Years ago, a teacher of mine, Ed Burghard — the very first time we met — told me about his Handshake Document. "When I shake your hand," Ed said, "I automatically make these promises." He handed me a sheet of paper. The paper described the implicit promises he...
SMARTY Aim Setting for Wingnuts (2021 edition)
Here's an annual message in a bottle: it's time to set goals for next year! (But this year, it's not goals. It's aims. More on that below.) I'm not the goal-setting type.I prefer to wing it. That's my strength. When it comes to setting goals, I'm a wingnut. Goals seem...
ANNOUNCING: Pandemonia (Poems In Seclusion)
This is a new book, free for the asking. So ask. I have no time for publishing it as a book, so it will be stapled and mailed to you on the cheap. I hope you're happy. I hope you're satisfied. I hope you can sleep at night. Here's How To get your copy, at no charge to...
“Ethical Will” [Poem with video]
For years, I have taught workshops on writing ethical wills. I have drafted my own, but never felt finished. With this poem, I feel complete. This poem is my ethical will. A Jewish tradition, ethical wills pass ethical values to the next generation. In recent years,...
“The Fourth Turning” [Poem with video]
The Fourth Turning Who wouldn't jump on a plane To Monaco, Key West, and Spain? Hot cars! Fresh honey! The haves have money! Take a selfie! The Reichstag's a'flame! The title refers to The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy - What the Cycles of History Tell Us About...
“The Next Pandemic” [Poem with video]
After the text is a video with me reading the poem, followed by comments from poet Beth Weinstock. We met on May 31 for a Poetry Circle during which we read poems -- finished and unfinished -- to the other and then comment with encouragement and criticism. Here is the...
“Do The Pandemic” [Poem with video]
After the text is a video with me reading the poem, followed by comments from poets Beth Weinstock and Steve Abbott. We met on May 17 for a Poetry Circle during which poets read poems -- finished and unfinished -- to the others and then comment with encouragement and...
“Now You Know” [Poem with video]
After the text is a video with me reading the poem, followed by comments from poets Beth Weinstock and Steve Abbott. We met on May 17 for a Poetry Circle during which poets read poems -- finished and unfinished -- to the others and then comment with encouragement and...
“Access To Francis” [Poem with video]
Here is a poem inspired on Good Friday and Easter 2020 by images of the Pope presenting his messages to the world amid pandemic solitude. After the text is a video with me reading the poem, followed by comments from poets Beth Weinstock and Audrey Brahler. We met on...
“String, Foil, and Bands” [poem with video]
I wrote this, after my sister asked what I thought our parents would have thought about this pandemic. Of blessed memory: Arthur J. Isaac, Jr., born, 1917; died, 1991. Jacquelin Fihn Isaac, born, 1927; died, 2012. String, Foil, and Bands I remember roaming in my...