Bracha Nechama Bomze

Merci, Henri

for beckoning
this ten-year-old,
her
color-wheel eyes

trichromatic hands
forbidden from
punished for
decorating
her own
stone-colored
scratchy-gray
room
into….

L’Atelier Rouge

Merci, Henri,
for whispering:

You, too, are an art studio.

Go, paint your life!


So Short, So Long

Cool the burn with a salve of jade
Luca Jade, lucent jade
Solid jade softens into muscle
Leaps, flies entranced
Vibrant Kodo toddler dance

A wry crackle
Lightburst of Bubbie Libby

Mischievous
surprise-filled
not meek
unique
outrageous
courageous
humor contagious

Flip the pages of a Book of Life so short
so long
so short
so long
so short
So long….

Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav taught—

Light may enter only
a shattered heart
a heart that is ajar
an open jar—
For Luca Jade the lid is off

Sore, our love soars to her
music-filled
bubble-blowing
tree-nut crunching
puppy-petting
storybook world

Luca Jade with Bubbie Libby now
As together they launch us
into
open
broken
healing
unbroken
Love


Imagining Esther’s Voice

I lick the plate of Life with gusto
Not a flavor, not a morsel
Left untasted.
I don’t want to leave the party
Unless the dancing stops.

Even then, still, I dance
Leading myriad children
Pretending to be birds
Deep into sky.

See me, and thousands of
Tiny leaping feet, worldwide,
Feet that sing to you in your grief
Dancing to your tears:

No, I haven’t left the party, my dears,
Even though it meant leaving you.


About the Author

Bracha Nechama Bomze’s book-length poem, Love Justice, (3Ring Press, Brooklyn), won her PEN author membership in 2015. She has read at Poets House, Book Culture, and Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition events. She lives in NYC with her mellifluous wife and muse, Carol Bloom (Browse Carol’s art photography at photobloom.net). Contact Bracha via www.LoveJusticethePoem.com.

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