Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Star of David - a Poem by Rick Black

I am loath
to open the archival box
in which it is kept.

Yet I can not resist
and delicately
lift the top

to find white gauze
beneath which is a hint
of yellow,

a precious jewel.
I unwrap it slowly, the infamous
word,

Jude,

so naked,
so innocent,
so dark,

the graceful letters
set against the yellow star.
Where has it been,

this scrap of cloth?
Who wore it, long forgotten,
in which ghetto?

Go ahead,
try to calculate
its weight,

resting in my hand,
a swallowtail that can
no longer fly.

Courtesy of  Rick Black (c)
This poem is from his book
 Star of David 
which is a collection of poems 
see more on:
http://www.turtlelightpress.com/products/star-of-david/

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TITLE: Poetry Reading: Star of David 

SPEAKER: Rick Black 
EVENT DATE: 2013/11/22
RUNNING TIME: 53 minutes
TRANSCRIPT: View Transcript (link will open in a new window)

https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6232