Preface

     My being a poet in Israel has a number of facets, some of which I would like to touch upon in these opening remarks. First of all, my “office” is related to what transpired in the abyss, told of in A Great and Terrible Love (portions of which featured in Lightning Sword: Journal of the Apokalypse), regarding the evolution of my consciousness as a poet.

     Then, the question of the statuses of “who is a Jew?” and “what is Israel?” come to the fore, these both heated topics, and both will be discussed and presented authoritatively. Will everyone agree? No! Opposition comes with this territory, as with Shammah in the field of lentils.

     A laureate poet has – by definition – three crowns / laurels: the laurel of the people’s love; the laurel of the Muse; and a crown bestowed by Deity. The first is simply understood, though not easily gained; and there is the matter of which people, for many hate what a holder of these laurels loves. The second has to do not only with superlative gifting, but also withal to prevail against contenders, for this crown is obtained in the dread Arena of Consciousness, where multitudes vie for the mastery, including demonic practitioners and sundry occultists; what good a great voice hacked to pieces by a wicked swordsman? The third: if one does not acknowledge this crown, he or she is not acknowledged, for how can the blind see; and, there is a certification and an anointing that must accompany this crown. A triple-crowned laureate or none.