Shifting shades afflict this ghost of David Rodinsky
As he returns to his room in Whitechapel, London
For one last look at his Aramaic and Hebrew texts
Which provided him with the hex for disappearance
Where he came from nobody knows. Was he Jewish?
Yes and no. Was he British? Who knows? Not he.
Certainly he lived here once: ate, slept,defecated;
Until 1969 when he took time in hand, walked out
Of his room, leaving all behind, and never returned.
Until 1878. A shy ghost wondering what to look for.
Kabbalah was his A to Z, he followed what led
Him out of the strange interstices of time and space.
He was always too early and always too late.
His is a story is of obsession and possession, so wait.