Shalom Freedman Poems

I am taking up space-

The better quality of others
Would have more room without me-

Perhaps it is better that I not write at all
...

WHEN THE LAST POEM IS WRITTEN

When the last poem is written
And there is nothing more to be said
...

As I could when I was young
Now my Sadness is older than all Literature
It has a grave before it
And many graves of friends all around
...

My sense of my own meaninglessness
Suddenly disappeared-
I realized I had done something with my life
I had spoken truly of what I knew and felt-
...

Loved ones and Friends die
So many people are sick,
Worlds disappear
Everything hurts more
...

Another friend is gone
It’s two in a little more than a month
Two people who it was a special pleasure to talk with-

My world grows smaller
...

We can no longer do at the end-
How painful and disappointing then
How difficult
How sad and unhappy
...

FAR AWAY FROM LITERATURE

Far away from Literature
I long for it-
...

I walk into the morning light,
And Joy slowly opens in me
At the Beauty of the world I see.
...

Don't fail me
Don't ever fail me
O Beauty of the morning light
Don't fail me
...