JERUSALEM POEMS
"Jerusalem is a place but more than it is a place it is an idea, an idea enclosed in a place, or rather in the air above it."
- Prof. Harold Fisch
- Prof. Harold Fisch
There Used To Be In Jerusalem
There used to be in Jerusalem an old man
with leathery face and white-stubble chin.
He led his mule down our narrow lane,
huge cans of kerosene strapped to its sides,
copper bells clanging about its neck.
The kerosene heated our rooms, cooked our stews.
There used to be in Jerusalem an old man
with deep-furrowed brow and white-stubble chin.
He came clanking down our cobbled lane,
slung over his shoulder – a large brass box.
He would knock on our doors –
“Any pots to repair or kettles to mend?”
There used to be in Jerusalem an old man
with sunken cheeks and white-stubble chin.
He hobbled down our tunneled lane,
hanging from his shoulder – a threadbare sack.
He would call out, “alte zacheen… alte zacheen…” *
We ran down to the courtyard, gave him a shirt or two.
There used to be in Jerusalem an old man
with pendulous lip and white-stubble chin.
He sat on a wicker stool at his copper shoe-stand
opposite the Citadel at Jaffa Gate.
We too, were his customers, one foot raised on the stand
while, with two brushes, he polished our shoes.
Before the century locked its doors,
the kerosene man and his mule were gone,
the tinker no longer came;
the rag man limped down our street no more
with his loud and nasal call.
Then the shoe-shiner disappeared.
Do only I remember these old men
with woolly caps and white-stubble chin
who sat at Jaffa Gate, who walked down our lane?
No-one ever mentions them, we never knew their names;
yet these steps resounded within our walls
before an era sealed its gates.
* old clothes
This poem first appeared in the International Literary Quarterly,
January 2011, Issue 13, section 2
http://www.interlitq.org/
January 2011, Issue 13, section 2
http://www.interlitq.org/
A Taste of Coexistence
The shopping cart
is far too heavy
for me to heave
up the Old City’s cobbled steps.
“Can you help me, please?”
I ask a young woman
in spiked heels
and hijab.
The two of us –
both with covered head –
carry the cart
up the stone steps.
A glimpse of Eden.
This poem first appeared in Voices Israel Anthology 2010
Jerusalem, City of Prayer
In the market place, in front of copper scales, round weights,
On a wicker stool,
Sits a white-turbaned man with full white beard.
His white jalabiyah covering arms and legs,
Eyes closed,
Palms over ears,
He sways as he chants Koran verses.
At the Western Wall
Stands a black-hatted man with full white beard.
His black coat covering arms and trousers,
Eyes closed,
One hand holds a book,
The other caresses ancient stones.
He sways as he whispers prayers and psalms.
A five-minute walk separates them,
A thick, invisible wall separates them --
The Sons of Abraham.
In the market place, in front of copper scales, round weights,
On a wicker stool,
Sits a white-turbaned man with full white beard.
His white jalabiyah covering arms and legs,
Eyes closed,
Palms over ears,
He sways as he chants Koran verses.
At the Western Wall
Stands a black-hatted man with full white beard.
His black coat covering arms and trousers,
Eyes closed,
One hand holds a book,
The other caresses ancient stones.
He sways as he whispers prayers and psalms.
A five-minute walk separates them,
A thick, invisible wall separates them --
The Sons of Abraham.
This poem first appeared in the book,
Jerusalem Awaking by Ruth Fogelman
Jerusalem Awaking by Ruth Fogelman
Cleaning Rice
On the balcony of my courtyard I sit
Cleaning rice, picking out the tiny black pebbles.
On the wings of a warm breeze
The music of my neighbor rises to my ear.
His musical arrangements, like sweet scent,
Intangibly sink into my being.
The music stops.
He leaves, the courtyard gate closes behind him.
“Allahu Aqbar”
Chants the muezzin in the mosque on the Mount.
It is noon.
Loudspeakers throughout the walled City
Transmit his call.
And I sit, in my high-walled courtyard,
Cleaning the rice.
This poem appeared in Woman Prayers Anthology
(editor Mary Grabowsky) Harper Collins, 2003
(editor Mary Grabowsky) Harper Collins, 2003
To hear Ruth Fogelman read "Cleaning Rice" click here