Brought Down

By Simon Constam

Characterized by the admission of doubt in God's desire for a better world, and willing to see Jewish tradition as indispensable, Brought Down struggles with daily life as a firm believer and continuing pride in Jewish identity. In the great Jewish tradition of holding God to account, and not relenting in anger towards Him, the themes in this book are universal: faith, religious practice, forgiveness, history, and the relevance of belief.

This book also recognizes that religious traditions today weigh even more heavily in our lives than does God. Here, you'll find people who are confused, frightened, determined to be their own masters, trapped by age-old customs, but never flagging in strength and determination to see clearly, to love God, to honor the best in traditions, to make a better world. The poems here were written over a twelve-year period. They were born from a lifelong, religious inclination, a ten-year period of Orthodox Jewish observance now passed, and a belief that prayer and poetry are not one and the same; that it is poetry which more profoundly addresses our concerns. You will not fail to recognize yourself in these struggles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Jan 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781666790122

Simon Constam

Simon Constam is a poet and an aphorist. His poems have been published in various magazines, among them The Jewish Literary Journal, Poetica, and the Dark Poetry Club. He has published a new, original aphorism under the moniker Daily Ferocity on Instagram, daily for almost three years.

Book preview

Acknowledgments

I want to express my deep appreciation to Mark Kempf, exceptional reader of poetry, for his ongoing comments and criticisms of my work and his endless support of my efforts.

My appreciation also to:

Janice Waugh for her calm and straightforward help with so many aspects of this work including the poems, the structure of the book, and not least her patience while I distanced myself to work on it.

Jacki Levin for unending support and love, and the constant link she provided me to things Jewish.

Tracey Nesbitt for her commonsensical reactions to my work, her proofreading, and her unflagging belief that I have been doing something worthwhile.

Stan White for his willingness to look at and critically consider material far outside his experience.

Almighty was first published on the Dark Poets Club, 1/04/2021.

HaMakom saw its first publication in the Jewish Literary Journal in February 2015.

Yerushalmi, originally published in Poetica Magazine, was chosen as a finalist for the Anna Davidson Rosenberg Award in 2016.

Judith and Holofernes originally appeared in LongCon Mag, Issue #3, Spring 2020.

Sarai, then titled Sarah, was published in Inez Magazine, August 2018.

Almighty 

You’re a Torah scroll.

You’re a mountain rock.

You’re a page filled with ancient talk.

You’re two, brilliant-blue sapphire blocks.

You’re a temple wall, 

an empty ark.

You’re masquerading as the dark.

You’re a writer gone mad,

a writer gone to ground,

a writer on the lam.

You don’t want to be found.

You're a palimpsest, 

an all-too-fallible psychotherapist.

You’re a brazen monologist,

a single, lonely, witness to the