Tag: poetry

Poetry: Know Your Place

Impossible requirements for assimilation then turn into rasping hate-speech that evolves into sneer, into threat.

Poetry: Sarah Asleep

The latest midrash with a woman-centered version of the story of “the binding of Isaac.”

Poetry: Eden Is an Archetype

In Honor of National Poetry Month, Lilith will be sharing original work by Jewish feminist poets throughout the first week in April. We begin in the Garden of Eden…

Fiction: “Worms”

Spider crawls across the rim of pot. I flick it into the rain pounding down. Search the flowerbeds for squirming bodies, run my fingers gently through wet earth waiting for their silky touch.

The Pain of Singing Carlebach

Wrestling with the legacy of signing melodies by Shlomo Carlebach— prolific and influential song leader, and also a known abuser.

Facing History at the Angel Island Immigration Station

My great-grandfather was detained at Angel Island. Immigrants carved tens of thousands of poems into every square inch of the barrack walls, describing their anguish of captivity and longing for home. 

A Pain in the Ass

My job was to keep my father safe in the world without compromising his dignity. I can only imagine how difficult it was for him—the parent—to take orders from me—the child.

An Expected Unexpected Death

Three poems from Lesléa Newman about the impact of her mother’s death on her father and herself.