You might think the veil
made all the difference,
as if seeing another’s face
were as simple as brushing
aside the lace and stepping
into the light with open eyes.

But we’re better at hiding than
that. We vacillate endlessly
between recognition and
erasure each time we meet
as veiled strangers in need
and desire and fear, each of us
forever Judah, forever Tamar.

Kenneth Salzmann’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in such publications as Jewish Literary Journal, Voices Israel, Rattle, California Quarterly, Chiron Review, and others.