Short Aviv Poems

Derrick Greaves once visited Tel Aviv
in the desert found a vivid motif
Creating inspiration so fine
into unique silhouette,colour & line...

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Were it in Haifa, one could understand
   or Tel Aviv by the shoreline, let ‘em pound sand

But in Holy Jerusalem, a ‘gay pride parade’ ~
   one is forced to conclude, there’s nothing sacred...

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Raining today 
   in the big apple 
  Yes, this metropolis is still here 
Despite the 
    fact 
that 
we 
have 
   been attacked 
Yes, the masses of people 
still long to visit 
this "Baghdad on the Hudson"
as O.Henry named it 
It is not Paris, Tel Aviv or London 
But it is the place 
   I call home 
Personally I think this city 
will survive ,flourish and grow...

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How it began 

Men in green uniforms 
ice blue eyes and leathery lips
saw me in the crib 
and declared this child 
is an Aryan
I clicked my heels and
sucked my thumb
Mother took to singing
sentimental lieders  
and received the fab
iron cross
I became the kindergarten's
Fuhrer   
To my regret, peace broke 
into my dream 
I circumcised 
we moved to Tel Aviv 
the rest is history 

...

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If a bomb goes off on a train or bus,
I guarantee the aftermath will not be too fabulous.
If I found myself in Haifa, Jerusalem, or Tel Aviv,
the first thing I would want to do is leave.
I can name so many other places for a vacation.
In the Middle East, staunch hostility surrounds this nation.
They are not shooting at each other in Tahiti.
How many terrorists are roaming in Hawaii?
...

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The fifth night of Chanukah
  never falls on the Sabbath
This is a sign of great darkness

That is why, wherever a Jew may be
  be it New York, Paris, London
Tokyo or Toronto or Tel Aviv
  
He must light the candles of Chanukah
  to pierce that darkness, to 
Beam the Spirit of Religious Freedom

Into a world rife with suspicion
  struggling with oppression and blight
A World desperate for the Promise of Light...

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There I was in Tel Aviv
  on my way to work
Sweltering Middle-East sun
  a most unwelcome perk

December morning's
  dusty, choking heat
creaky, crowded buses
  melting asphalt streets

Yet as I walked the final 
  blocks to my daily grind
I found myself a-humming
  season's songs in mind:

'Silver Bells' and 'Silent Night'
  the words seeped from my lips
Was I in the 'Jewish State'
  ~ or had my brain played tricks...

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