Read my golem poem!

[rachelmanija]

Published by Expanded Horizons, A New Word.

There is also an amazing Chinese steampunk painting in that issue.

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1091800.html. Comment here or there.

Comments

[axolotl9]

That is a marvelously evocative poem. I liked it very much.

[rachelmanija]

Thank you!

[kimberlite8]

A powerful poem. I liked the circular creation theme. The line "But all servants are just waiting rebels," evokes the story of Adam. As God made the rebel Adam, so does Adam's descendants make clay golems.

I loved the juxtaposition of emet/met and truth/Ruth. One aspect of the story of golems is that they can be activated through Jewish mystical rituals involving manipulation of the Hebrew alphabet. Your poem could be considered a form of those medieval incantations. A Frankenstein like creature becomes the merciful and kind Ruth ("Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee") - following her Naomi to a foreign land.

I agree with the prior commenter - this was a marvelous evoking poem! Thank you!

[rachelmanija]

Thank you so much! You were clearly my perfect reader for that poem.

I hadn't actually thought of Adam as a rebel, but it's a great point. Maybe I did subconsciously.

[kimberlite8]

Maybe I did subconsciously.

Doesn't the word adamah mean dirt or earth? You know I read the line "but not the reddish dirt beneath our nails" as meaning that people were golems made by God rather than that they were the golem-makers. Well, that's the beauty of storytelling and especially poetry and song - the reader completes the creative process. Even if they are interrogating the text from the wrong perspective. :P

Is there a hard copy of the magazine? I did donate to the e-copy, but a hardcopy would be nice. The Chinese steampuknk artwork was amazing. And Id like to do my part to encourage more speculative fiction poetry in the world.

[rachelmanija]

You know I read the line "but not the reddish dirt beneath our nails" as meaning that people were golems made by God rather than that they were the golem-makers.

Again - maybe subconsciously. It's a great interpretation.