24 years, Dad,
Have gone past,
Since that ninth of Adar
When we saw you last.
You were the classic
Renaissance man
Not everyone
Could understand,
Starkly honest and stoic
But brave and heroic,
The heart of a lion
And the soul of a poet.
You fled the Shoah,
Landing in Peru,
Crossed Titicaca,
Climbed Machu Pichu,
Trekked the Amazon jungles
Like Indiana Jones,
Saw teeming piranha
Turn a beast into bones.
You found your way
In America
Found your angel,
Your calming breeze,
Our Emmalika.
Beginning all over
Was a difficult quest,
Our family struggled
But we were loved
No less;
We’d go for rides,
Watch planes take off
At JFK,
Or head for the ocean,
Your happy place.
Erudite in world history,
Spoke seven languages
Fluently,
Sought out the best
Like “El Exihente”
In a world enmeshed
With mediocrity.
Taught us to hate
Injustice and evil,
To love Israel
And the Jewish people;
You lived a life rich
With adventure and fun,
Travails and challenges
To overcome.
So glad you saw Avraham
And he got to see you;
I can see your eyes shine in him,
Icy blue.
With Emma in Shamayim
Forever in love,
May your neshamah
Have an aliyah,
Pesach Zev ben Dov.
By Sharon Marcus
