by Brad Jacobson (Columbia, MO)
Down more than one hundred steps
by an old graveyard and a green mountain
resembling camel humps.
A white towel hangs on a hook.
Water drips into a small pool of water
sunken in a cave. A tsaddik is buried here.
Legend says those that immerse
become pure.
Bobbing in chilly water:
Ad-dah-mah, mah-yeem, shah-mah-yeem.
Earth, water, sky.
I dress without drying off.
In my journal, I write:
My father and I are here together.
Afterwards we walk on the ancient streets of Tzfat
talking and laughing.
My mother joins us for tea.
Brad Jacobson is a volunteer every summer in Israel in the SAREL program. He teaches TESOL at the Asian Affair Center at the University of Missouri, where he has an MEd in Literacy. In the summers he enjoys exploring places with his camera like the Old City of Jerusalem, Tzfat, and the Red Sea where he scuba dives. He has been published in Tikkun, Voices Israel, Poetica, Cyclamens and Swords, and the University of Missouri International News.
“An Afternoon Cup of Tea” is from Brad’s new book, “Lionfish: The Poetic Collection Of A Traveler’s Experiences In Israel,” and reprinted here with the kind permission of the author and publisher.
You can read more of Brad’s poems in his new book. Visit the link to see more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1946124648/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860&linkCode=sl1&tag=beeps-20&linkId=b8e4722d77fdd5f0148ae60390d40ec2&language=en_US&fbclid=IwAR3ZBUQsla0CdU7voiaWm5FRPXzEEIglc0tuceGIUFwSsys5u14kBYEscLU
The Jewish Writing Project 