top of page

S'iz brent! A Poem about the LA Fires by Alexis Krasilovsky


Acclaimed filmmaker, poet, digital media artist, and film scholar, Alexis Krasilovsky is a founding member of Yiddish Shmoozers (in Translation).


I received the following message from her this morning with the image and poem below:


I've just finished reading the whole book, A. Sutzkever: Selected Poetry and Prose [U California Press, trans. B. Harshav & B. Harshav].


His poems of hopefulness inspired me to write the poem "To the Ashes in L.A."


The Free Verse News https://newversenews.blogspot.com/ published the poem January 13, 2025 with the AI digital image below.


--Gelya Frank, 1/14/25

TO THE ASHES IN L.A.


A poem is a monument

when there aren’t enough stones

to place on the burial grounds

to hold ghosts

in place.

 

A poem is a monument

when you’re exiled from the land

and poems are portable.

 

A poem is a monument

when tears

evaporate before

words can be written down.

 

When you’re fleeing flames

that multiply like stars

in a darkening firmament,

only a poem

can speak to it.

 

When lies propagate

into your flickering

consciousness,

sweeping under rugs

the killing fields.

 

When your bare feet

step onto

radioactive sand.

 

When rose petals fly

in fiery winds,

replaced by embers

and ashes.

 

A poem is a monument

when pots filled with ashes

are left in the rain,

overflowing.

 

When seeds of memories

sprout anew,

and trees grow

high enough to bring shade.

 

A poem is a monument

when you take time to imagine

the gravestones

of your ancestors.

 

Alexis Krasilovsky's most recent book Watermelon Linguistics: New and Selected Poems (Cyberwit) was a finalist in the 2022 International Book Awards. She is also the author of Great Adaptations: Screenwriting and Global Storytelling and has traveled to twenty countries making and screening her global documentary features Women Behind the Camera and Let Them Eat Cake—available for free streaming on Kanopy.com.
32 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


Join our mailing list

Thanks for submitting!

© August 2020 by Yiddish Schmoozers in Translation. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page