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,

tanta looks over crusted maps of Lake Tiberius

planning winter hikes for us along the Jordan river,

and as Calilily kisses smooch the Tsfat sky,

she inspires us further on to much higher ground

Safed Inn

Tsfat, Israel

May 21, 2018