tanta pancakes

Yiddish brown eyes personified

cascading absolute cozy communication,

LA angels once winged her to this place,

where tangy olive oil hummus softly kisses

her fresh baked challah

and four white doves coo

“love, love me do, you know I love you”

Lonely Planet guests stroll along exquisite garden paths

prickly pear cacti in red purple bloom

gardenias and tulips saturate the Safed earth,

while Dutch girls play 23 questions on hammocks

retelling stories of Old Amsterdam shuls,

German couples devoutly celebrate Anne Frank

South Africans dream of Aliyah,

and Dylan strums his Johanna visions through thirsty eucalyptus leaves

over tomorrow’s breakfast hot black tea and Russian sugar cubes,

tanta revisits those cherished, venerable memories,

children laughing and spilling grape juice over Passover Seder tables

smoking uncles playing pinochle noshing on sour pickles

cousins cheating at hopscotch and stickball

chicken soup and lokshen Shabbos with Bubby

1930s black and white photos of shuls

late evening at candlelight

after toasting for peace from Negev wine bottles,

we look over crusted maps of Lake Tiberius

plan winter hikes along the Jordan river,

and as Calilily kisses smooch the Tsfat sky

she inspires us further onto much higher ground

Safed Inn

Tsfat, Israel

May 21, 2018