The poem I want to share with you today was written about one of my favorite places on Earth. While on pilgrimage, after a day of touring, some of us decided to take an early evening break and went for a luxurious dip in the great salt lake known as The Dead Sea.

DEAD SEA DELIGHTS

Israel Pilgrimage—2006

Earlier today

while bussing

through the region

brilliant sunrays illuminated

the Dead Sea

bedazzling us

with sparkling expanses

of cerulean and turquoise

Now, amid evening shadows

some of us slip into the sea

There is ample darkness

so we dare to reach down

for handfuls of rich

black, therapeutic mud

and slather it lavishly

over our face and body

It’s November—

the air is cool

as is the sea

nevertheless

we linger

bobbing buoyantly

in extreme saltiness

as the precious muck

squishes and oozes

through our toes, reminding us

of when we were kids

Maude Carolan Pych

Maude's Poems