Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Yonatan Berg

REMEMBRANCE

Despair wraps itself around your name.
For a moment I am alarmed, cannot reconstruct
the intense jaw line that held the face.
Time is like ash,
like the constant flow of rivers,
like ridicule.

Winter darkens the house,
dancing on wooden drawers.
How can we be rescued from forgetfulness,
from daily habits, from long mornings
in which we dress ourselves
in respectable appearances as if there is no
deserted, dirty hallway below.

How can I bring you to the balcony,
to the spring festivities,
to wine and walnuts, a book of poetry,
to the spectre of a street busy with itself.
How can I mourn the distance of years,
of waste, of your silence
seeping into the earth.

זֵכר

זֵכר

שְׁמוֹ שֶׁל דָּוִד נֶעֱטָף אֲפֵלָה,
לִרְגָעִים אֲנִי נִבְהָל, לֹא מַצְלִיחַ לְשַׁחְזֵר
אֶת קַו הַלֶּסֶת הָעַז שֶׁחָפַן
אֶת פָּנָיו. זְמַן כְּמוֹ עָפָר,
כְּמוֹ תְּנוּעָתָם הָעִקְבִית שֶׁל נְהָרוֹת,
כְּמוֹ לִגְלוּג.

הַחֹרֶף מַחְשִׁיךְ אֶת הַבַּיִת,
מְרַקֵּד עַל מְגֵרוֹת הָעֵץ.
כֵּיצַד לְהִנָּצֵל מִן הַנְּשִׁיָּה,
מֵהֶרְגֵּלֵי הַיּוֹם, בְּקָרִים אֲרֻכִּים
שֶׁבָּהֶם אָנוּ מִתְלַבְּשִׁים
בְּחָזוּתֵנוּ הַמְהֻגֶּנֶת כְּאִלּוּ אֵין מִתַּחַת
אוּלָם עָזוּב וּמְלֻכְלָךְ.

אֵיךְ לְהָבִיא אוֹתְךָ אֶל הַמִּרְפֶּסֶת,
אֶל חֲגִיגוֹת הַסְּתָו,
יַיִן וֶאֱגוֹזֵי מֶלֶךְ, סֵפֶר שִׁירָה,
רִפְאוּת הָרְחוֹב הֶעָסוּק בְּעִנְיָנָיו.
כֵּיצַד לְהִתְאַבֵּל מִמֶּרְחַק הַשָּׁנִים
עַל הַבִּזְבּוּז, עַל שְׁתִיקָתְךָ
אֶל תּוֹךְ הָאֲדָמָה.

 
Close

REMEMBRANCE

Despair wraps itself around your name.
For a moment I am alarmed, cannot reconstruct
the intense jaw line that held the face.
Time is like ash,
like the constant flow of rivers,
like ridicule.

Winter darkens the house,
dancing on wooden drawers.
How can we be rescued from forgetfulness,
from daily habits, from long mornings
in which we dress ourselves
in respectable appearances as if there is no
deserted, dirty hallway below.

How can I bring you to the balcony,
to the spring festivities,
to wine and walnuts, a book of poetry,
to the spectre of a street busy with itself.
How can I mourn the distance of years,
of waste, of your silence
seeping into the earth.

REMEMBRANCE

Despair wraps itself around your name.
For a moment I am alarmed, cannot reconstruct
the intense jaw line that held the face.
Time is like ash,
like the constant flow of rivers,
like ridicule.

Winter darkens the house,
dancing on wooden drawers.
How can we be rescued from forgetfulness,
from daily habits, from long mornings
in which we dress ourselves
in respectable appearances as if there is no
deserted, dirty hallway below.

How can I bring you to the balcony,
to the spring festivities,
to wine and walnuts, a book of poetry,
to the spectre of a street busy with itself.
How can I mourn the distance of years,
of waste, of your silence
seeping into the earth.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère