Howl! Disappointment is the Price of Living

Aug 19, 2026, 2:53 AM

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The price for living is the disappointment

that generally before our death emerges,

though fame and riches soothe us like an ointment

before we are demolished by our demiurges.

Bible stories often end with that above,

their leitmotif the disappointment that prevails.

The Bible’s golden rule is that we all should love

our neighbors as we love ourselves, which in these tales

is just as rare as in real life – and in the state

of Israel, I most regretfully now must

report – such loving seems far rarer than does hate,

which surely disappoints the God whom many trust.

Howard Jacobson writes in “Disappointment: On the dream of Zionism,” 4/26/23. Tablet:

About the Author

Gershon Hepner is a poet who has written over 25,000 poems on subjects ranging from music to literature, politics to Torah. He grew up in England and moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Using his varied interests and experiences, he has authored dozens of papers in medical and academic journals, and authored "Legal Friction: Law, Narrative, and Identity Politics in Biblical Israel." He can be reached at gershonhepner@gmail.com.