Ascending Mount Sinai August 1975 Remembered Poem by Lewis Eron

Dear God
Since we cannot abide your light
Give us a good set of sunglasses
Or better, better night vision
To find our way in the darkness.

I, too, once climbed Mt. Sinai
Starting in the dark before dawn
And made it up safely to view
The red golden sunrise above the dry desert mountains
(To tell the truth, I stubbed my toe,
Tripped on a rock
And bruised my bottom a bit.)
I wrote a ten page letter home later
But then I got hungry
And I really enjoyed sitting in the shade of a rock
Drinking Turkish coffee – sweet, thick, and dark.
Not a terrible metaphor.

You once invited Moses and the elders for lunch
And I received an invite for brunch,
It was on the tour program.
I bought a pita as well as the coffee,
Put on my sunglasses,
Filled my water bottle
And went to visit
The Orthodox monks
Who
Didn’t seem to mind the weather.


(October 20,2012)