This month I have been writing, and Tupelo Press has been publishing a new poem as part of their "30/30 Project." Click here to see the latest day's poems.

Below is a poem I wrote and published in honor of my beloved Mother's and Aunt Peggy's first Yahrzeit's (the annual Jewish anniversary of a loved one's death - the Yiddish word is close to its German cousin, Jahrzeit, which literally means "time of year" or "year-time"). They died, respectively on Nov 11 and Dec 9, 2015. This week our family just learned of the death of our dear Uncle Jay Robbins. I share this poem today in memory and honor of all who mourn loved ones during the holiday season. As we say at Temple, Zichronam liv'rachah. May their memory be for a blessing.

Mother’s Day Roses

(for Mom & Aunt Peggy)

Lighting the first Yahrzeit

candle for your sister

the second one

within a moon

Death so frequent

a visitor

it feels as

if grief has

become the truest

friend

Red roses

bloom in December

Hope smiles

softly

in the

late autumn chill.

(8-10 December 2016)

N.B.: This poem is based on the recent experience of finding 3 new rose buds at the beginning of this very month, December 2016. They appeared on the Mother's Day Rose bush I planted during the first year of living here. The organic herbs my Mother gave me, as a house-warming gift during the first of her too-few visits ,sat in the Rose bush's shadow for nearly two years. They're still dried and in use. Thanks Nana!

Again, if you want to read more, click here. If you are so inclined and can afford to help support a fellow non-profit arts organization, here's a link to my Tupelo Press fundraising page. We appreciate anything you can do to help support the art of poetry and the independent presses which help it survive and thrive!