Forefather

-Jake Marmer

directions were precise

(who else could spin your compass

like a roulette)

-and as you go

you may catch your reflection

in the mirror of filth

hanging on a nail of a rhyme

and on rhyme's authority

you might feel like a dog

running across the piano -

"into yourself" doesn't mean dig

in your past, less so

your present but these sounds

these reflections your people

will know each other by

they're the open letters

of your spinning inheritance

Jake Marmer merges poetry, music, and performance into philosophically potent mixtures such as existentialist dancehall, Talmudic jazz poetry, personalized bop apocalypse. He has performed extensively in New York and Jerusalem, with his band Frantic Turtle, Mima’amakim collective, and various hip downtown characters. More of his work is available at http://jakemarmer.wordpress.com/