On the maniacal seas of confused hysteria<\/p>\n
Winds howl like a worse-for-wear-wolf:<\/p>\n
Tidal wave-lengths of despair climb and<\/p>\n
Crash in the stand-up-comedy, fall-down-<\/p>\n
Tragedy routine that is the strung-out junkie:<\/p>\n
Up it rises, down it falls \u2013<\/p>\n
Up the barbwire it rises<\/p>\n
Down the snake pit it falls \u2013<\/p>\n
Climaxing all the way to inevitable wash-up<\/p>\n
On the a-shored tombstone in a white, foamy<\/p>\n
Poison emulsion bubbling at lip and mouth<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ships sway on the creaky rocking chair perched<\/p>\n
Atop unmade waterbed; not in relaxation, in terror:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Friendships, Flagships, Worships \u2013<\/p>\n
Scrawny bodies sinking slow, bony arms flailing fast<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Shipwrecked!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The lighthouses have long since been turned into<\/p>\n
Tourist attractions and the atlases don\u2019t come in<\/p>\n
Braille<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
On these stormy seas, even the Leader Ship has sold out \u2013<\/p>\n
Directions are free, they say<\/p>\n
You only have to pay Shipping & Handling<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It seems we\u2019ve been shipped and handled by the leadership.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lost and wet, cold and confused on the sea of life \u2013<\/p>\n
And not a bona fide leader in site<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<i.\u2026the entire assembly<\/p>\n
All of them are holy<\/p>\n
And within them is G-d<\/p>\n
Why do you exalt yourselves<\/p>\n
Over the congregation\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Why indeed?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are leaders and there are leaders:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are those who churn up stormy seas,<\/p>\n
Push people in and charge an arm, leg and<\/p>\n
Soul to get them out; men who call themselves<\/p>\n
Prophets and they do not fib \u2013 indeed how<\/p>\n
They profit \u2013<\/p>\n
Albeit at another\u2019s heavy expense;<\/p>\n
Exploiting scum who create destruction,<\/p>\n
Calamity and pain and then beseech the masses<\/p>\n
To repent lest they befall destruction, calamity<\/p>\n
And pain; selfish slime who degrade humanity<\/p>\n
In the holy name of upgrading themselves \u2013<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
These aren\u2019t leaders; these are misleaders, cowards<\/p>\n
Who\u2019d rather see you sink than get themselves wet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Then there are those who don\u2019t need fancy words or<\/p>\n
Fancier titles to describe what they don\u2019t do \u2013 pure<\/p>\n
People who do what has to be done, who lead because<\/p>\n
They cannot stand a child with sad eyes, who\u2019d rather<\/p>\n
Weep themselves than see a poor lady cry\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are those who exalt themselves over<\/i> the congregation<\/p>\n
And there are those who exalt themselves with<\/i> the congregation<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And Korach took\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He took himself to one side,<\/p>\n
He separated himself from the<\/p>\n
People \u2013 is that a leader, a man<\/p>\n
Of peace, of unity?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
They fell on their faces and said:
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cO G-d\u2026 shall one man sin and
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
You be angry with the entire assembly?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You want to know the sign of a true leader?<\/p>\n
One who will argue with G-d for the sake of<\/p>\n
His people, one who will help another, bring<\/p>\n
Peace to the world even<\/i> when it\u2019s uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
A leader is not someone who wants to, but someone<\/p>\n
Who has to, has to make things better, has to change<\/p>\n
The world.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Once it\u2019s about you, you aren\u2019t leading;<\/p>\n
You are following<\/p>\n
Following your own agenda<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There is only one Moshe, one Aharon,<\/p>\n
But we all must wish to emulate them:<\/p>\n
In every sea or scenario, we must<\/p>\n
Wish to play a leading role<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s leading story may be a stormy current \u2013<\/p>\n
But do you wish to follow the current or lead the storm?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mendel Jacobson is a writer, poet and journalist living in Brooklyn. His weekly poetry can be seen at jakeyology.blogspot.com<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the maniacal seas of confused hysteria Winds howl like a worse-for-wear-wolf: Tidal wave-lengths of despair climb and Crash in the stand-up-comedy, fall-down- Tragedy routine that is the strung-out junkie: Up it rises, down it falls \u2013 Up the barbwire it rises Down the snake pit it falls \u2013 Climaxing all the way to inevitable<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":168,"featured_media":43776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-media"],"yoast_head":"\n