(Dedicated to Ben Skoler)
Just as beloved wholeness was his emphasis
Regarding the individual’s spiritual quest,
So Gandhi strove for that sacred synthesis:
The macrocosmic marriage of East and West.
And to those who said he was an incarnate god
He stressed his natural birth and earthy side:
A son of Adam, or soul implanted clod,
Who wished to live in comfort when he died.
For the surest sign of Gandhi’s integrity
Was empathic humour that humanized his zeal;
Without it religious fervour and chastity
Might well have shrunk his capacity to heal.
++Lest fatal fission blast our precious Earth,
++Like Gandhi we must grasp wholeness’ worth.
Jerusalem
15 January 2021