June 29, 2010 | 12:26 am

A DROP OF WATER

Posted by Emily Stern

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2006, E.S.

SHIVA ASAR B’TAMUZ

everything that I possess never had an opposite.

let me see blindness
settled on the darkness
timeless on the face of the deep. to waters who cover temples endless
the water has home. home,

my life is just earth
my soul has yet to agree
and say
because no
no no no no

the know is knowing
we are pray-ers and
that in the face of you, i am me
& friend, perfection may include

Let me love you as my neighbor
where only home betweens us. in the truest send me to There
is this field of the abyss, the end already happened. it’s all over.
covered. openly spoken by miriam. and spoken open. fire.

does it matter that Gd is the only player
and yet i play apart in your own terms, sages
sing Not am I

enlightening time awake at the watching
root of interception. i mention wanting
“what does this remind you of?”
it could be true That I love.

dust and stars to come of us. breathe. in the day
of this time
I sea. return that i may hear
enough to answer before asking
plea, be true. even to calf the kingdom,
just as she has commanded.
face of the deep, be
enlivened. be not afraid of
the size of this shape
there is always something bigger….

Give my heart the stamina to open in the face

The hand of the cloud
The hand of the cloud
The hand of the cloud
The roots of the tree
Down in the face of the design of man a cattle a book and butterfly’s hand that lives in the light of the woman and man and is offering of the trees. The cattle and all the lives in side the snake of the stem and the seed of the vine the end of the near and the farthest leaf hearing songs in the spoken moment dreams far off in the earth that wove them rose to the top to find the way
To walk in the vine of the name. If I’m to come will you spoke me upon trunks of dust and i touched the rotten tree with my palms and light grew. and the flow does not have to be touched to swell and rise from the wells between us: a garden. the kind of creature that can fill the love beneath her. the garden of the teacher. and here’s a breath for the earth when the earth starts to rise, and give way to human life.
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June 28, 2010 | 9:26 am

Forever Now

Posted by Emily Stern

Can You See The Heart? Emily Stern, 2010

I want to dwell in your forever,
forever.
forever,
for now
is your forever.

For Jamie and Nico

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June 28, 2010 | 9:26 am

Forever Now

Posted by Emily Stern

Can You See The Heart? Emily Stern, 2010

I want to dwell in your forever,
forever.
forever,
for now
is your forever.

For Jamie and Nico
June 27, 2010

Read more of this post

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June 20, 2010 | 7:50 am

Act 3: of One.

Posted by Emily Stern

Emily Stern. The Broken Tablets: LEAH. 2010

ACT 3:
HALACH: AL ERETZ KEDEM,
              THIS IS BIGGER
              THAN SOMETHING
              YOU CANNOT HAVE.
              THE SPIRIT OF
              THIS LAND
              GIVES HER
              DISSERTATION
              ON THE
              PHILOSOPHY OF
              HOPE.
LEAH:      ALL I WANT
              IS MY
              COURSEWORK
              DESIGNED
              BY THE ONE
              FOR MY
              HIGHEST
              GROWTH.
HALACH: SHE HAS LEARNED
              TO TRUST
              THE SEEDS.
              AND FROM
              THAT ALL
              MY GRAVITY
              PULLS THE EARTH
              IN LOVE
              ALL THE PARTS
              THAT ARE
              BUOYANT
              LET “LETS GO” BE.
LEAH:     I WOULD LIKE
              THE WORLD
              TO JUST
              BE ALIVE,
            TO BE LIKE . . . 
JACOB:    GATHER STONES
              ALL AROUND.
            WE PARTOOK,
                MADE A MOUND
    THE FLOWERS
                    TOLD STORIES
      TO MY PORES.
                    I STORED THEM
                  ON OUR TRAVELS
AND WHEN OFF
                THE ROAD, I TOLD
                THE BIRDS.
AND EVERYTHING
                IS BUZZING WITH
                ALIVENESS.
SO MUST I BE TOO?
LEAH: MAY HASHEM WALK
                BETWEEN YOU AND ME
WHEN WE’RE OUT
                OF EACH OTHER’S SIGHT.
I’D LIKE TO BE FEELING THIS,
                JUST AS I’M FEELING THIS
SO IT MUST BE ALL RIGHT.
IF I LIKE WHAT I AM
AND I SEE YOU IN ME.
                I LIKE WHAT YOU ARE.
I LIKE WHAT I SEE.
                IF I AM WHAT I AM
AND IT’S ALL MEANT TO BE,
I WELCOME FOREVER,
                THE WHOLE WORLD
HOWEVER, JUST AS
                SHE COMES TO ME.
JACOB: WITHOUT CHANGING THIS EXPRESSION
TO BE MORE LIKE THE WAY
                I’VE KNOWN HER
WHAT IS OUR CONNECTION
WITHOUT GETTING ANY CLOSER?
LEAH: I DO NOT ANSWER.
                I DO NOT CHANGE MY FACE.
I DO NOT SPEAK A WORD.
                YOU KNOW
                I HAVE HEARD.
                AND OUR LOVE
                GREW DEEPER
WIDER, FULLER, TALLER, HIGHER
                BUT JUST TO KNOW—
I BECAME THE KIND OF TREE
WHO HAD A CLOUD ON TOP
INSTEAD OF LEAVES,
                DOWN IN THE FACE OF CAN I ?
I HAVE BORNE OUT MY SOUL
                BEFORE THE WORLD.

HALACH:       DIDN’T YOU HAVE FAITH
                EVERY STEP OF THE WAY?

*********

The matriarchs and pratriarchs are buried together, albeit Rachel. Says Jacob, “I am to be gathered unto my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field.” (Gen.49:29) “There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife.  and there I buried Leah.” (Gen. 49:31, JPS translation) However he speaks of Rachel, “and i buried her there on the road to Ephrath” (Gen. 48:7) Therefore, In this play, HALACH, is a representation of RACHEL, as well as the walk or journey of the nations. (aka The Seeds.)

This is a poetic exploration
told in 3 acts
of contraction and expansion,
searching and questioning,
praying, of breaking,
being on the land as a person of faith,
this seeing of the stars in the sky,
the seeds in the ground,
the glass that breaks at weddings,
The tablets that shatter in the sand
The birth that exists here,
and most of all hope. 
It is told through our matriarchs and partriarchs
to show the continuation of our lineage
interwoven with the living Torah of guidance.

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June 13, 2010 | 7:23 pm

ACT 2: of Becoming One

Posted by Emily Stern

Emily Stern Performing Becoming One; May 16, 2010, Featured Artwork by Emily Stern; series entitled, "The Broken Tablets"; Photo by Jordana Golden

ACT 2

HALACH:		AND ISAAC SAID ,
ISAAC:		I FEEL SUCH LOVE HERE.
REBECCA:		WHO IS THAT MAN WALKING IN THE FIELD TOWARDS US? WHO IS THIS STRANGER STARING BACK AT ME? IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? WHO IS THIS I SEE? A STRANGER HERE TO CHANGE ME, A MESSENGER FROM GD. WHO IS THIS STRANGER AND HOW COULD IT BE THAT THIS COMPLETE STRANGER’S NO STRANGER TO ME? PLEASE GD LET ME ONLY SPEAK TRUE THINGS. THERE IS SO MUCH TO TELL.
ISAAC:		INNUMERABLE ONE, IS IT ALL OR NOTHING?
REBECCA:		HE WERE A LAUGH WRITTEN OUT LONG HAND.
ISAAC:		I FELT MY WHOLE BODY BURST. ARE WE GENERATING A LIGHT THAT FEELS LIKE A CANDLE WRAPPED IN YELLOW AND BLUE?
REBECCA:		HOW CAN YOU LOVE A FLAVOR JUST ONE FLAVOR SO DEEPLY SO PURELY SO TRUE? HOW CAN YOU LOVE ME? AND LOVE HOW I LOVE YOU? AND HOW CAN YOU SAVOR THIS MOMENT SO DEEPLY, AND GIVE ALL THE LOVE THAT YOU DO? DO YOU ALL KNOW THAT THIS A JOKE A PRACTICAL JOKE? I’VE STOPPED HUMORING YOU. HOW CAN YOU LOVE ME OR LOVE ME OR LOVE ME OR LOVE ME THE WAY THAT YOU DO?
ISAAC:		AND IT’S AN URGENT MATTER BEING HERE WITH YOU. DOING EXACTLY WHAT WE’RE MEANT TO BE DOING.
REBECCA:		I AM AFRAID I AM REALLY MYSELF. IF THERE IS A PART I’M PLAYING….
ISAAC:		IF LOVE WERE TO OPEN, TO FULLY OPEN . . .
REBECCA:		THERE’S NO WHERE TO THE PERFECT LOVE, AND THE ONLY WHERE TO DO IS UP… GO TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.
ISAAC:		YOUR PRESENCE HAS AWAKENED A LEVEL OF MY PSYCHIC SOUL NEVER BEFORE SPOKEN TO DIRECTLY. YOU LOOK ME IN THE EYE, YOU LOOK ME IN THE HEART.
HALACH:		THEY ARE FACING THE SUN. THEY SAY THIS IS PRETTY, BUT WHAT IS LOVE? THEY ASK TO BE TAUGHT WHAT SONG IS BY BEING SUNG.
ISAAC:		KALLAH KALLAH KALLAH, SISTER LISTENER TEACHER FRIEND, DANCE AND DANCE TILL THERE’S NO END, TASTING SWEETEST HONEY WITH YOUR TOE IN PROMISING YOUR HAND.
REBECCA:		IF LOVE WERE TO OPEN, TO FULLY OPEN, I’D SAY I HOPE I MADE NO ASSUMPTIONS OF ONE AND ONENESS,
HALACH:		AND THEY WILL JOIN THEIR HANDS AND THEN THEY BOTH WILL TURN THEIR HEADS AND LOOK INTO EACH OTHER’S EYES.
ISAAC:		V’ZOT HAMITZVAH HACHooKeem v’hameshpateem ASHER TSEEVA YA. ELOHEYCHEM L’LAMAAD ETCHEM LA’ASOT B’ARETZ ASHER ATEM OVREEM SHMA L’REESHTAH: L’MAAN TEERA ET YA ELOHECHA TO KEEP WITH ALL OF HIS MITZVOT THAT I COMMAND YOU. THAT YOUR SON AND THE SON OF YOUR SON ALL DAYS OF YOUR LIFE SO THAT YOUR DAYS MAY BE LENGTHENED.
REBECCA:		WALK BEFORE ME, AND I MAY LEARN TO FLY. I DANCE TILL THERE’S NO END IN THE PROMISE OF MY HAND. OF WATERY STONES.  (Her torah) WHAT IS HERE IS WHOLE AND WIDE, LET US CHANGE EACH OTHER’S LIVES.
HALACH:		AND HE SAID I FELT SUCH LOVE HERE TRUST COME TO WHISPER—- KALLAH IMAGINE THIS MOMENT JUST SPIRALS OF LIGHT NOW ARE THE WILLOWS. IT RAINED LAST NIGHT, A CAMP IN THE KIND OF KINGDOM WHERE SHE BROKE HIM REMEMBRANCE. WATERS FROM THE MOST HIGH HAVE FULL OF GROUND AND LOVE
REBECCA:		LAMPS OF FOLDED TABLETS. THAT THE GROUND REMEMBERS,
HALACH:		AND THEN THE GROUND COMES TO MEET THEM. THE FLOWERS TOLD L’DOR V. DOR
ABRAHAM:		JOKSHAN MEDAN MIDIAN ISHBAK AND SHUAH.
ISAAC:		I DO NOT WANT ANYTHING FROM GD. I ONLY WANT TO SEE WHAT SHE (REBECCA) WANTS. DO YOU WANT TO GIVE MY SOMETHING THAT I AM TO RECEIVE? DO YOU WANT TO GIVE ME? IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE ME, IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY, IF THERE SIMPLY IS SOMETHING TO UNTANGLE IN MY MIND, MY SOUL, IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRUST ME WITH, TRUST ME WITH THE WIDTH OF THIS LAND.
HALACH:		(whispered) THE FLOWERS TOLD THE STORIES OF YOUR POEMS.
REBECCA:		EACH A LITTLE PIECE INSIDE THE OTHER, JOKSHAN BEGOT SHEBA AND DEDAN THROUGH GLASS.
ISAAC:		A TRANSLATION OF PRESENCE OFFERED ME A LANGUAGE
REBECCA:		THAT SEEMS TO TRANSLATE TO A FACE THAT MOVES. AND IS MOVING ME. HE SAID RISE AND I SAID COME DOWN. I KNOW THE PLACE YOU’RE LIVING IN WHEN IT WAS SAID LET THERE BE LIGHT BECAUSE LIGHT WAS NEVER FIRE THAT WAS JUST THE MOVEMENT. WHAT I WANTED TO DO NOW. CHANGE THE NATURE OF THE MOMENT. WITH YOU.
ISAAC:		MAYBE LIKE A HAND AS YOU OFFERED ME A LANGUAGE. ONE STEP AND A TIME . ASSHURIM LETUSHIM LE’UMMIM MIDIAN EPHAH EPHER ENOCH ABIDA ELDAAH.

**********
ACT 1 spins around ABRAHAM and SARAH as they enter a new transient and transcendent land amidst the stars.  This scene expresses the process of awakening and transcendent nature of asking the question who am i? The characters in the play locate themselves within the question and the quest. They are wrestling with their divine spirit.“pray tell me your name. but he said “why do you ask my name?” (Gen. 23:30)

We move to Act 2, the coming together of ISAAC and REBECCA in as they begin to walk through life as a couple. Symbolically expressed language and imagry of commitment, marriage, childbirth, and the receiving of Torah. I have tried to equate the breaking of tablets to a ground memory, ancestral memory, or bodily memory within all life.  Apology for the heterosexuality of it all, hopefully wavering in the multiplicity therein.

This is a poetic exploration
told in 3 acts
of contraction and expansion,
searching and questioning,
praying, of breaking,
being on the land as a person of faith,
this seeing of the stars in the sky,
the seeds in the ground,
the glass that breaks at weddings,
The tablets that shatter in the sand
The birth that exists here,
and most of all hope. 
It is told through our matriarchs and partriarchs
to show the continuation of our lineage
interwoven with the living Torah of guidance.

0 Comments — Leave your comment

June 12, 2010 | 11:18 pm

Songbirds

Posted by Emily Stern

e.s. 2010

The birds all have
a bible, birds choose,
birds believe, birds
eating for treats, trusting in treaties
in their hearts they know their truest nature, in their hearts there is a song
and the hawk and the raven learn
they are what they are

though all of creation
doesn’t get why they must be in a world of black and white—
where the “other” may be right, when
the only “other” that I know
is the soul inside of me. 
This is right and that is wrong,
but when your soul sings,

I love that song.

i wish that I could show you that I know you. I wish my wisdom were a book you liked to read. How I hoped you’d tell me something truer, how i hoped that you’d reveal yourself to me
But you come to me and tell me you are “Guilty.”

And I say
“Oh, my lovely friend,
is that your name?”

“Let me introduce myself,
I’m ‘Sorry.’ It’s nice to met you,
but I also am ‘To Blame.” I want to enter your sanctuary
with a heart that’s pure
Just because the truth has always been
here, doesn’t mean that we know her.
First I had to meet my own identity
by identifying with
what’s outside of me. There we play by rules of weak and strong,
but when the soul sings, I love that song.

at one time I was the one she listened to in vain and said
“had i made the better choices, maybe we would be the same…”
and the eagle soars above my head, “Won’t you take control instead?”
and let it all come back to me, and bring branches from an olive tree to show us there may be a chance we can believe in peace.

that someday i may hear the words the birds sing,
and smile at how fear can sound so pretty
to our ears, Because our fears won’t be fears
but tiny seeds that we can hear.

And the birds on the street won’t call me traitor
‘cause maybe this is who i have been all along.
I’d rather say it now than say it later
because when my soul sings
I love that song.

I know we’re all trying in our very own way,
and I know everyone is saying
exactly what they’re meant to say,
and suddenly the world is getting softer
we’ve gone up the hill
to fetch a pail of water, 
we have fallen down and
we’ve broken our crowns,
but i look at you cause
after comes the laughter.
Don’t you see my branches are translucent
and delicate as the gift of love?
You may think the wings we wear are useless
‘till they show us that below is as above.
i tried to put words on pure potential
and pure potential is the place I miss
within a truth is anything can happen,
in family with all the songs that live.

posted first via Facebook January 12, 2009
Emily Stern

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