Dan Brook
Re-Membering Ishmael
I remember Biblical & Koranic Ishmael
who was “cast out”
from his home
from brother Isaac
by Sarah and his father Abraham
while Hagar wept salty tears
two new nations
in future generations
separated in misunderstood pain
Ishmael reunited with his brother Isaac
to bury their father
together
I think of brothers
in better circumstances
who feel
yet feel that they cannot
return to each other
and themselves
I remember Melville’s Ishmael
who took to the sea
“whenever
it is a damp, drizzly
November
in my soul”
the salt stings
yet heals
my wounds
of the heart
while the wind
rips through my hair
I think of the wuther
of the old willow tree
long gone
like me
and my brother
from our homeland
I remember Quinn’s Ishmael
who was a gorilla
a guerrilla teacher
seeking
a dialectical partner
a brother-in-arms
“with an earnest desire
to save the world”
from itself
I think of those
many of us
who acquire knowledge
yet lack wisdom
who sense
yet do not act
who remember grievances
but forget fraternal values
I remember Ishmael
all of them
as I remember my brother
in a dream
broken pieces
becoming whole
again
and again
and again
Dan Brook, Ph.D. teaches sociology at San Jose State University. His ebooks are at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/brook. More info about him is available on his about.me page.
Re-Membering Ishmael
I remember Biblical & Koranic Ishmael
who was “cast out”
from his home
from brother Isaac
by Sarah and his father Abraham
while Hagar wept salty tears
two new nations
in future generations
separated in misunderstood pain
Ishmael reunited with his brother Isaac
to bury their father
together
I think of brothers
in better circumstances
who feel
yet feel that they cannot
return to each other
and themselves
I remember Melville’s Ishmael
who took to the sea
“whenever
it is a damp, drizzly
November
in my soul”
the salt stings
yet heals
my wounds
of the heart
while the wind
rips through my hair
I think of the wuther
of the old willow tree
long gone
like me
and my brother
from our homeland
I remember Quinn’s Ishmael
who was a gorilla
a guerrilla teacher
seeking
a dialectical partner
a brother-in-arms
“with an earnest desire
to save the world”
from itself
I think of those
many of us
who acquire knowledge
yet lack wisdom
who sense
yet do not act
who remember grievances
but forget fraternal values
I remember Ishmael
all of them
as I remember my brother
in a dream
broken pieces
becoming whole
again
and again
and again
Dan Brook, Ph.D. teaches sociology at San Jose State University. His ebooks are at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/brook. More info about him is available on his about.me page.
