Jerusalem Scenes

I saw feathers erupt in flight
on the Jerusalem cross-city highway
as the tires of holy cars swerved
to avoid the body of a flattened crow.

There’s no metaphor here-
Only that we have death and machines in holy cities too.

In holy cities, there are also flashers in the streets,
and the prime minister gets his hair cut
on the very same street,
Beit Lehem road,
on the very corner where a man swerved,
erupted from his car in a flurry,
to assault the traffic control men in their yellow vests.

The tip of the industrial zone,
where a woman on drugs was assaulted
in “The Cheapest Market in the Land!”
And she hit back, yes she did.
The security guard left with blood broken on his cheek.

The holy industrial zone,
where I drove to another avowed thrifty market–
I saw the sun erupt from behind billowing clouds:
a holy salutation, a challenge.
But there I had to swerve
to avoid flattening the car before me
in line to the parking garage.