Poems
The Golem
Mud thou art, and unto mud shalt thou return. Unless, that is, you’re reckless enough to think you can transform yourself.
2 min readJul 28, 2023
This poem was first performed at the New York City Poetry Festival on Governors Island, July 29, 2017, and was subsequently published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, September/October 2018.
the golem lies on its back
unseeing eyes seeing a ceiling
which might as well be its sky
while i stand outside
and count the starssee the golem at the bar
numbing its numbness
never tasting the no. 7
while i pick up the tab
and pursue you through the nightthe golem stares a hole
through the television screen
where i’m an outlaw for your love
its pulse never quickeningthe golem reads the new york times
all the war and betrayal and stupidity
in one eye and out the other
while i cross hot coals both ways for youlook
see the golem idly touch its brow
the inscription that holds it in thrall
carved deep with a knife of gold
in runes of power from a dead languageit rubs away a formless ache
the golem without a thought in its head
while i crack the corners of my carapace
and emerge
sticky and glisteninglook at the golem
banded and bound
now look at me
free
look at me
me
