WHAT'S NEW
Three of Ruth's poems were recently published
in Sasson Magazine
and also on the 929 English website
in Sasson Magazine
and also on the 929 English website
The Light
A sea of light –
maybe after our time
on this terrestrial plane,
where our souls will be gathered
without all the shells
with which we armor our selves
in order to protect our souls,
when our bodies are no longer
coats for our souls
and all the armor superfluous,
we will bathe in a sea of celestial light.
Oh, to have the eyes to see Jerusalem
as a sea of light!
Maybe in a future time
when no-one learns war,
the wolf and lamb will lie together
in a sea of light so strong
that it radiates to the whole world,
the New Light that will shine on Zion.
The time when darkness
mingles with the light
will very soon be a speck of history,
hardly remembered
in the sea of light.
.............................................
Her First Song
Im ein ani li mi li…*
the little girl sings the Hebrew words
as she prances around the London drawing-room,
and glancing in the mirror, sees her corkscrew curls
dancing at her shoulders –
an English child who does not understand the words of her song.
Im ein ani li mi li
uk’she’ani l’atzmi, ma ani…
the teenager sings into a microphone
in a Brighton folk club
as she swings her blond hair behind her shoulders –
an English teen who has learnt to translate her song.
Im ein ani li mi li
uk’she’ani l’atzmi, ma ani…
the words dance in the grandmother’s head
as she climbs Jerusalem’s steps,
long hair under a purple scarf.
She reflects how Hillel’s words are mirrored in her life
and on the meaning of her childhood song.
________
* If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?
But if I am for myself what am I?
And if not now, then when?
Mishna, Avot 1:14
The above two poems were published in Sasson Magazine,
https://sassonmag.com
.................................................
Joseph’s Robe
Jacob ordered it -
A wide-sleeved robe of finest linen, striped
With scarlet, purple and sea-blue -
From the weaver of sacred curtains -
And gives it to his favorite son.
In a mirror,
The boy sees how it
Rests upon his shoulders,
Feels the smooth fabric against his skin,
Curls his hair,
And in the fields,
Flaunts the robe before his brothers.
“Here comes the dreamer!” the brothers call.
They rip it
From his back
But its tear is hushed by Joseph’s cries.
Ignoring his pleas, the brothers
Thrust his naked body into a pit
Not brimming with soothing water
But with snakes and scorpions
And dip the robe into the warm blood
Of a freshly-slaughtered goat.
The brothers
Sit and eat, while it
Lies stained
Next to grazing sheep
And strangers haul the bruised boy from the pit.
The brothers return it
To their father,
And cast it
Before his eyes.
“See, please, whose robe is this,” they say.
The cloth is ragged and dark blood
Obliterates the stripes
Of scarlet, purple and sea-blue.
It lies -
A desolate heap -
At Jacob’s feet –
And Jacob weeps.
This poem first appeared on 929
https://www.929.org.il/lang/en
A sea of light –
maybe after our time
on this terrestrial plane,
where our souls will be gathered
without all the shells
with which we armor our selves
in order to protect our souls,
when our bodies are no longer
coats for our souls
and all the armor superfluous,
we will bathe in a sea of celestial light.
Oh, to have the eyes to see Jerusalem
as a sea of light!
Maybe in a future time
when no-one learns war,
the wolf and lamb will lie together
in a sea of light so strong
that it radiates to the whole world,
the New Light that will shine on Zion.
The time when darkness
mingles with the light
will very soon be a speck of history,
hardly remembered
in the sea of light.
.............................................
Her First Song
Im ein ani li mi li…*
the little girl sings the Hebrew words
as she prances around the London drawing-room,
and glancing in the mirror, sees her corkscrew curls
dancing at her shoulders –
an English child who does not understand the words of her song.
Im ein ani li mi li
uk’she’ani l’atzmi, ma ani…
the teenager sings into a microphone
in a Brighton folk club
as she swings her blond hair behind her shoulders –
an English teen who has learnt to translate her song.
Im ein ani li mi li
uk’she’ani l’atzmi, ma ani…
the words dance in the grandmother’s head
as she climbs Jerusalem’s steps,
long hair under a purple scarf.
She reflects how Hillel’s words are mirrored in her life
and on the meaning of her childhood song.
________
* If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?
But if I am for myself what am I?
And if not now, then when?
Mishna, Avot 1:14
The above two poems were published in Sasson Magazine,
https://sassonmag.com
.................................................
Joseph’s Robe
Jacob ordered it -
A wide-sleeved robe of finest linen, striped
With scarlet, purple and sea-blue -
From the weaver of sacred curtains -
And gives it to his favorite son.
In a mirror,
The boy sees how it
Rests upon his shoulders,
Feels the smooth fabric against his skin,
Curls his hair,
And in the fields,
Flaunts the robe before his brothers.
“Here comes the dreamer!” the brothers call.
They rip it
From his back
But its tear is hushed by Joseph’s cries.
Ignoring his pleas, the brothers
Thrust his naked body into a pit
Not brimming with soothing water
But with snakes and scorpions
And dip the robe into the warm blood
Of a freshly-slaughtered goat.
The brothers
Sit and eat, while it
Lies stained
Next to grazing sheep
And strangers haul the bruised boy from the pit.
The brothers return it
To their father,
And cast it
Before his eyes.
“See, please, whose robe is this,” they say.
The cloth is ragged and dark blood
Obliterates the stripes
Of scarlet, purple and sea-blue.
It lies -
A desolate heap -
At Jacob’s feet –
And Jacob weeps.
This poem first appeared on 929
https://www.929.org.il/lang/en