Recipe for a good poem

ELISHA PORAT

A recipe for a good poem . . .
Take one painful childhood memory,
Coat it with the thin, green patina
Of all your years and all your words,
Then take out one sharp pencil,
To peel this memory and carve it
With strength -- like you'd use a scalpel --
Until you meet the fresh muscle of life.

Translated from the Hewbrew by the author and Ward Kelley

Elisha Porat can be contacted at porat_el@einhahoresh.org.il.

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