A Spiritual Poem in Five Minutes
When I think of spirit I think of Pirate
drinking on Pardal accepting a plate of Shabbat
dinner salmon on Friday night when he tells jokes
You kind of have to step back away from his face
so the spirits don’t get in the way.
One night his friend Abraham approaches us
offers to explain our Hebrew names.
“Ah, Shoshana,” he says to Shauna.
“Light.” “David—Strength.”
He peers at me through monocle eyes, says:
“Julia—from the English: Jewel.”
Pirate laughs so hearty from his perch,
clutching salmon to his chest,
coughing up spirits.