poems In this issue   BACK TO TOOKANY REVIEW HOME Edited by Kristine Grow & Sandee Mandel For more information about  writing workshops offered by the Cheltenham Township Adult School, contact: Cheltenham Township Adult School 1414 Panther Road Wyncote, PA 19095 Phone: 215-887-1720	Judah Rosenstein Judah Rosenstein grew up in Philadelphia, where he received boundless encouragement in a home filled with tradition, inspiration and artistic energy.  After seventeen years of higher education, odd jobs and trying to save the world through the practice of law in and around New York, he came back to where it all began.  Judah now lives in Elkins Park with his wife and two cats, all of whom receive his poetry with stunned disbelief. The Road (Test) Not Taken Let fly from an ivory tower, a Molotov cocktail (Feeling as the real thing must two seconds before it lands and spreads wild fire in every direction) With my tightly-rolled “fuse”, a bound diploma raised overhead, I was like a talent-filled bottle, ready for impact. (A force for social change!) All I dreamt about was the ability to burn. But, in time, that focused burning was weakened by the cold without; a world I did not have the patience to change. (Society is a meat locker full of cold and hardened pieces of flesh and bone) I know now, that if I had it to do again, I’d work to better individuals, not society. And I think I would be a driving instructor because they get to change peoples’ lives dramatically, daily, forever. Too long ago, however, I chose the career path more traveled the window overlooking the streets below rather than the traffic ahead and that has made all the difference.                         Quiet Elevator As you entered the elevator, our eyes met, but neither of us said a word or even nodded. Upstairs, the verdict was in and Carlos was back in his chair, poised to hear what had been decided. And you were ready to deliver him his fate, though the subtle biting of your lip seemed to indicate otherwise. It was almost certain that Carlos would experience his life in jail, and probably his death but, because he speaks no English, it is your face he will look to when the decision is pronounced. This will be the last time you stand opposite him translating each and every word. I think that it is because of his reliance on you that we feel so awkward now.	"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think." Lorraine Hansberry
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