the Four

four entered Paradise and three returned
soul's inward journey balanced on a knife
Elisha found his bridges all had burned
ben Azzai paid the carfare with his life
the text is terse, but midrashim unwind
Akiva's nonchalance where others fell
and how it was ben Zoma lost his mind
who'd known Yeshiva lesson books so well
of ben Abuyah Rabbis rarely speak
a subtle mind turned from the Torah's light
without a paddle, drifting on the creek
without mitzvot for guideposts in his night
on weak foundations, mystics come unwound
when they can't keep one foot on solid ground