Thank you, Karen Lee Ramos

for hosting a delightful afternoon of poetry, today,

at the Barn Gallery, Ringwood Manor State Park.

I enjoyed reading poems from my book

and listening to all the other fine poets.

And now...another poem about the Dead Sea:

Photo credit: britannica.com

LIFE FROM THE DEAD SEA

Israel Pilgrimage—1986

There’s something mysterious

yet wondrous

about this great water body

that lies smooth and still

in the midst of utter barrenness

so salty, one can actually climb

and walk upon giant saline mushrooms

which rise up from sea bottom

at the lowest ebb on Earth

For millenniums it has taken

from the Galilee and Jordan

without giving—

refusing sustenance

to fish and flora

hoarding its rich minerals

and precious oils which intensify

in ongoing evaporation

People flock to its shores

from far continents

to bathe, buoyed

in lifeless waters that heal

They even slather their bodies

with its dark therapeutic mud

receiving restoration

from the deadest dead

One great day

the mighty arm of God

will reach down, down, down

to touch its lifeless liquidity

with miraculous rebirth

Its waters will spring to life!

Fish will thrive

Trees will bear magnificent fruit

along its lush and fertile shores

Maude Carolan