Martin H. Levinson Verse-Virtual 2016 June

June 2016

I write poetry because it helps me make sense of the world around and inside me. It piques my interest in the past and prods me to think more about the present and the future. I find the act of writing poetry joyful and self-reinforcing, even when the content of my poems is about sad or traumatic events. Please visit my website: martinlevinson.com.

Mazel
from Yiddish מזל ‎(mazl), from Hebrew מַזָּל ‎(mazzāl, “star, constellation; fate, luck”)

Was it mazel that caused Daniel Pearl to go
   to Pakistan, Bobby Thomson to hit the “shot
heard ‘round the world,” me to meet and marry
   my wife because I was mesmerized by the

influence dripping down from the stars, the
   constellations on high that direct our behavior,
the filter God’s emails go through before
   ending up in fate's inbox where they are

read by the actions we do or do not take in a
   theoretical free-will world where you can be
what you want to be, do what you want to do,
   grab chance by the throat, but people still wish

for good fortune which is not the same as mazel.
   The Talmud says mazel is strong on your birthday
except for Jews who are not subject to mazel, a
   puzzle worthy of deep rabbinic study. If Daniel

Pearl had been killed on his birthday he would have
   had to overcome mazel he was not supposed to
have but when your number’s up it’s up and no matter
   what you do to avoid your destiny the cashier behind

the human meat counter in heaven will not be denied.