A Poem

By Yona Wallach

(original hebrew)

At a hidden creek in the cliffs
A deer drinks water
What do she and I share?
But the cliffs of my heart
But the spring of my life
But hidden
A deer
What do she and I share?
But my love

[I could only ever speak for myself]

By Rachel Bluwstein

(original hebrew)

I could only ever speak for myself
My world is as narrow as that of the ant,
Even my cargo I carried like her,
Too much and too heavy for shoulders so scant.

And on my way — as her way to the top —
A road lined with pain and a road made of toil,
The hands of the giants, malicious, don't stop,
Such that every advancement i make they may foil.

All my attempts were mocked and made tearful
By hands of the giants and trembling frights.
Why have you beckoned, o beaches of wonder?
Why did you lie to me, o distant lights?

[A meeting, half a meeting]

By Rachel Bluwstein

(original hebrew)

A meeting, half a meeting, just one stolen glance,
Pointless canines flashing — that's all...
And once more I was flooded, and once more in a trance,
Where happiness and grief befall

The trusty dam for memories — I built it to protect me —
As if it never was, has burst.
And on my knees I crouch, next to a river flowing freely,
Quenching my forgotten thirst!