Day, Door, Soul

By George Epstein

George Epstein was a mathematician, scientist, and poet. This mixture of experiences and passions came together to form the three-part poetry collection Day, Door, Soul. It presents a progressive visual journey moving from awakening through the portal and finally to divine soul transcendence, as written by a religious man with earthly connections.

His collection is intended for those who are aware of the spiritual journey of life and for those who seek to unravel the mysteries of life through developing a deeper understanding of self. Epstein weaves imagery within his words to paint pictures that inspire and inform. Even through daily encounters, the greatness of life speaks in the mundane. Even a small ant on a beach has meaning.

Globalism and humanity are linked to the individual good. Biblical and mythological images relate to the monotonous day by day. Epsteins poetry asks us to face our ethical dealings, learn the art of balance in daily life, and ponder the impermanence of life as we journey from consciousness through the doorway to our soul.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Oct 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491739129

George Epstein

George Epstein lived a life of beauty, love, and science. Through his poetry, he shares his insightful awareness of the inner workings of existence. His words are a fascinating blend of science and spirituality, fantasy and reality.

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Copyright © 2014 George Epstein.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4917-3910-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-3911-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-3912-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014911393

iUniverse rev. date: 10/28/2014

Credits go to:

Vicki Buckner for cover photograph

Janet M. Ver Ph.D., University of Phoenix, for Overviews

Contents

Introduction

Foreword, J. Kent Clark

Professor of Literature Emeritus

California Institute of Technology

Overview of Day

Day

Sunrise-Sunset

Sunrise

Signs of Sunrise

Morning Blessings

The Power and the Gift

Young Abraham’s Ancient Plea

The Visitors

The Six Cries of Sarah

The Old Lady

Choose Life

From the Song of Moses

Near the Ending of the Song of Moses

Yesterday

The Two Cries of Job

Looking for Three Others

Another Experiment Was

Unmistakable

The Parting Words

Superstition

A Willow on Hoshano Rabboh

Oops

Waiting in Court for Judgment

The Marine

Unfinished Lesson

Depression for Me

The Plea

A Botanist or Entomologist Speaks

Our First Principle

Micro Pendulum

How Much Do I Love You?

How Much More Do I Love You?

A Leaf on the Golden Tree of Life

Reactions

The Man, the Woman

Thanksgiving Day: Grace after Meal

Laurie, You’re

At Lake Pleasant

One, Two, Three, Four, Five

My Father, Max, at Dodger Stadium

Who Knows

In My Green Airplane

Giganto-Man and the Paramedics

Walking with Laurie in Stanley Park

Before Origami

Involvement

On the Times of Life

The Future of Weaponless Man Is

The Puzzle Is

Possible Ending

The ET Message

Please Regard

Sunset

An Artist Speaks

To Be

The Imbued

What Hashem Said in His Heart to Noah*

The Life of Jacob: Some Actions in His Last Moments*

The Voice of G-d

On Stage, Curtain Up!

A Conspiracy

Punishment and Justice

The Diamond

Assets and the Collector

A Certain Kind of Shop

Permission and Consent

A Petition

Supplication

A Fig Tree in the Garden of Remembrance

In Blessed Memory of Frieda Lubing

Sabbath Blessing

Simchas Torah

Joy

Sondra

Corey

Linda

Linda and the Hills

My Two Sons David

No Complaints

Your Food

Biography of a Boy

Potential

Unawareness

The Cabin at the End of the Road

Children of Israel

The Crime

In Death

Recovering

Circulation

The Quiet Man

Return from the Lectern

In the United States Nowadays

Rapport

Resurrection

Ed and the Smile

Artie Shaw Is Confessing That He Loves Her without a Vocalist

On Stage with Other Players: Waiting

The Important Man

The Tiny and the Big

On Stage with No Other Players: Waiting

Gesticulation Is Expression

For the Unknown Prisoner of War

Meditation of a Young Healer

The Hound

The Best Things

A Pattern

Pen in Hand

Overview of Door

Door

Open-Closed

The Open Door

I See

Kensho

Nightmare at the Statue of a Shepherd

Jacob Prepares to Meet His Brother Esau*

The Vision of Joseph*

At the Mountain of Abarim, the Coming Death of Moses*

The Selection of Solomon*

The Uniqueness of G-d*

A Capsule for Ethics of the Fathers

Make a Fence

Our Purpose in the World

On the Names of Angels

Contact

The Unutterable

Another Visit to the Court of Judgment

The Wall

My Faith

On the Appearance of Your Savior

The Source

The Dream Maker

The Soul Sensor

I Dream That

The Solo Dancer I

The Solo Hummer

Jan Peerce Sings I

Jan Peerce Sings II

Irving Berlin

Autobiography of a Small Dog

Untitled

The Puzzle

The Umbrella

My Mental Set

The Mutual Look

Morning Adventures

The Strangers

This Morning

The Cloud

On Scenarios of the Future

Richard Tucker Welcomes the Sabbath

Havdalah

Sunday Morning

Sunday Evening

On the Lack of Miracles

The Shechinah Says Hello

I Meet Ethan Hartfield

Infants

Letter to the Brights on the Birth of Their Fourth Child

The Young Conductor

-On Immortality and the Human Condition

The Other Side

The Lights of Beth Israel

Great, Mighty, and Awesome

The Automatic Door

The Closed Door

The Closed Door

Our Weapons

Queen Esther Speaks

The Potential of My Humanity

Letter to J. Kent Clark

The Benny Goodman Quartet

Cap Jones

My Muse

Asclepius

A Man, A Woman

The Big Baby Complains

The Pirate or the Imp?

The Costume

The Day after Halloween: About Greed and a Loving Mother

A March Poem

At a Movie with Two Young Friends

Kid, the Coward of the County,

To Allow

Words from an Artist and Actor

The Portrait

The Secret

Of Secrets and Tricks

A Closed Door

Tricks, Secrets

A Madman in the Gateway

A Schism in Personal Time

Today

Yesterday

To Realize

I Stare

An Urban Trick

An Urban Riddle

A Trick for Speaking with Your Friend

I Met Three Men

Three Walking Men

To Remember

The Daydream

The Blocked Memory

Letter to a Grandson of S. Paul Epstein

A Visit from Uncle Nathan

Hygeia

Monaxia

The Zirtaki Dance

Little Steps

I Stand and Stare

The Smartest Thing

The Last Page

Overview of Soul

Soul

One Soul—The Loving Soul

Soul

As in Jazz

At the Airport

Nightmare at the Statue of a Shepherd II

A Vow of Souls

It Is Said in the Song of Songs

A Kindness

Thanks

Good

Field of Vision

The Walker

Laurie and George

Hashem

Psychology of The Creator

Our Three Oldest Grandchildren

The Solo Dancer II

The Absence of Peace

In Blessed Memory of Frank Schor and Milton Shopnik

Temptation

Silence

The Fog

Lesson 1: One Soul

Lesson 2: The Tai Chi Instructor

The Prisoner of War, Near the End of the War

Why Did I Risk My Life?

The Home of My Sinews

The Shechinah

What Can Be Seen

My Israeli Sister, the Little Thing

Life Occurs

Virtual Sisters and Brothers!

My Israeli Niece, Aliza

The Writing of a Poem for the Sad Poet

Laurie Love

The Poet

One Soul

A Soul in Two Hosts

My Two Friends

The Loving Soul

Tricks for the Loving Soul

The Twins

It Is Not Easy

United We Stand

Like Prayer

Darkness and Illumination

Incubation

Verification

The World Supplies

The Part of Your Soul in Others

Slow But Sure

Soul Transference

The Man in the Lake

A Friend

Request and Command

To Love Your Fellow

The Limits of Humane Energy

A Jazz Sound

My Friend

The Soul of Cyrano

Paul and Luke

The Bowl of Errors

Bob, John, and George

Ask a Mother

Ask a Father

Love Is a Rose

Life

Love

Freedom

Linda Returned in September

While Sleeping

Death Bed Confession

The Dead End

Glossary

To my dear wife,

Laurie P. Epstein,

our tender daughter,

E. Klee Hartfield,

and our darling granddaughters,

Danielle S. and Hana F. Epstein

Introduction

The collection, Door follows the collection Day. The interested reader may find more about my wife, Laurie, and my father, Max, in Day. Day contains more about Brandon and Brandon’s family. Ethan’s other grandfather, Ed Hartfield, is also included.

The two components of Door are The Open Door and The Closed Door. The Open Door is the open door to our true nature. The Closed Door is closed to the transcendental.

Unlike Day and Door, Soul has no citations to Torah sources. Yet the Torah remains the foundation that I visit weekly even when I do not have my eyeglasses on and cannot see well. Only the citations are