Look, Ma! No Hands!

Look Ma! No Hands! is my fourth poetry book, containing old poetry from old papers once forgotten, and new poems from a surge of inspiration. This 150 page poetry collection is part fantasy, part autobiography, part prayer book, part honoring my inner child, part Jewish, part hippie, part Oklahoma, part California. It is a book whose poems are largely about struggling to find the courage to take risks, gearing up another leap of faith in the midst of healing from past failures.
Of all my books it is the most spiritual, the most Jewish, and one of the more autobiographical books. It represents a renewal of spirituality in my life during a time of struggle. It predates my entrance into political poetry, although there are certainly hints of that spark within its pages. The newer poems in this volume were written between December 2014 and April of 2015. It also contains many poems from childhood creative writing archives that I had not previously had access to at the time of compiling my first three books, including "Ridin' Along" the lyrics to a song I wrote at age 10.
The poems "L'chayim," "Wake Up, Kid!," "My Shul," "What's In A Name? Or Fun With Etymology," "What I Learned One Stanford Afternoon," "Dissolving Lines," "Hiking is Never Alone," "These Hands," "Peace is...," "To my Soul Tribe," "Love is Anarchy," and "Defrosting Frogcicles" also appear on my spoken word album Happy Accidents. I invite you to find them on your favorite streaming service so I can read them to you.