Are These My Lions?
Daniel E. Levenson

Review by Alyce Wilson

In the remarkable chapbook Are These My Lions? poet Daniel E. Levenson makes sense of his experiences visiting Israel in 2006. Levenson was in Tel Aviv when the rockets hit Haifa. Here's what he writes in his introduction: "Things are never quiet here, but this feels different. In Jerusalem we find the nearest bomb shelters, and some people leave early. But life goes on, somehow. I sit down and take out my notebook. I start to write. It feels silly, futile, stupid, selfish. But still, the words come out. I have no idea if they are any good, what they mean. I simply collect them. They are falling. They are here."

Some of these represent slice-of-life observations, such as watching children play on the beach while fearing "death in a tube, / neatly packaged / for delivery." He writes about locating the local bomb shelter and then trying to enjoy a jazz festival anyway.

He also shares his conversations with other travelers, revealing insights about the thoughts of those similarly drawn into this conflict.

"I am staying at the Sheraton"
she says,
"Because my mother feels guilty,
she thinks I'll get killed here,"
she says

And yet, as dissociated as he may feel at times from what is happening, he cannot help but feel the grief. As he says eloquently in another poem, he got these stories from mourners, not from the newspaper, "Where words are set and dry in ink, / Not wet with tears // This story cries".

His notebook captured the uneasy dance that surrounded him, where both Israelis and tourists attempted to go about their lives while always being haunted by the threat of violence. Like an Impressionist in a French cafe captured both the beauty and the ugliness, Levensen contemplates his own relationship to the situation, both through his family ties and his direct, though temporary, involvement.

In its 38 pages, Are These My Lions? examines how violent global conflict affects us all. Strong as they are on their own, I would love to see these poems form the heart of a larger collection. Far from being silly and selfish, these poems are heartbreaking, poignant and important.

Rating: **** (Must Read)

Literary Comments Press, 2006