Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Lali Tsipi Michaeli

IN THE SILENCE BEFORE ALL

And so it was written that the people

And it was quite a story
One too many in fact

And a metaphorical baton
And blood
And men and women were there
Not in equal number
But it is possible to say that the voices of the women
Became louder at a certain point
And I had a neighbor with an accent
Who would ask me

What's happening here
What's going on
And it wasn't that I knew how to tell her or wanted to
But I was a kind of conduit for her

And so I said in passing that

The situation is bad and we mustn't stay quiet


And she told me about the place she had lived in the past

And about the injustice she had experienced

She says

I don’t want that here


I don't want that here either


Like this I leave the building

To the road which doesn’t know left from right

Only my neighbor and I

On the dark stairway

In the silence

Before all.

בַּשקט לפני הכל

בַּשקט לפני הכל

אָז כָּתְבוּ שֶׁהָעָם
וְהָיָה שָׁם סִפּוּר
אֶחָד יוֹתֵר מִדַּי
וְשַׁרְבִיט מֶטָאפוֹרִי
וְדָם
וְהָיוּ שָׁם גְּבָרִים וְנָשִׁים
לֹא בְּמִדָּה שָׁוָה
אֲבָל אֶפְשָׁר לוֹמַר שֶׁקּוֹלוֹת הַנָּשִׁים
גָּבְרוּ בְּשָׁלָב מְסֻיָּם
וְהָיְתָה לִי שְׁכֵנָה עִם מִבְטָא
שֶׁשָּׁאֲלָה אוֹתִי כָּל הַזְּמַן

מַה קּוֹרֶה פֹּה
לָמָּה כָּכָה
וְלֹא שֶׁיָּדַעְתִּי לְסַפֵּר אוֹ רָצִיתִי
אֲבָל הָיִיתִי סוּג שֶׁל צִנּוֹר בִּשְׁבִילָהּ
וְלָכֵן זָרַקְתִּי לָהּ
הַמַּצָּב רַע וְאָסוּר לִשְׁתֹּק

וְהִיא סִפְּרָה עַל מְקוֹם מְגוּרֵי הֶעָבָר
וְעַל הָעֲוָלוֹת שֶׁחָוְתָה
הִיא אוֹמֶרֶת
אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה

לֹא רוֹצָה גַּם כָּאן

כָּכָה אֲנִי יוֹצֵאת מֵהַבִּנְיָן
לִרְחוֹב שֶׁלֹּא יוֹדֵעַ מִימִינוֹ וּמִשְּׂמֹאלוֹ
רַק אֲנִי וְהַשְּׁכֵנָה שֶׁלִּי
בַּחֲדַר הַמַּדְרֵגוֹת הָאָפֵל
בַּשֶּׁקֶט
לִפְנֵי הַכֹּל.
 
Close

IN THE SILENCE BEFORE ALL

And so it was written that the people

And it was quite a story
One too many in fact

And a metaphorical baton
And blood
And men and women were there
Not in equal number
But it is possible to say that the voices of the women
Became louder at a certain point
And I had a neighbor with an accent
Who would ask me

What's happening here
What's going on
And it wasn't that I knew how to tell her or wanted to
But I was a kind of conduit for her

And so I said in passing that

The situation is bad and we mustn't stay quiet


And she told me about the place she had lived in the past

And about the injustice she had experienced

She says

I don’t want that here


I don't want that here either


Like this I leave the building

To the road which doesn’t know left from right

Only my neighbor and I

On the dark stairway

In the silence

Before all.

IN THE SILENCE BEFORE ALL

And so it was written that the people

And it was quite a story
One too many in fact

And a metaphorical baton
And blood
And men and women were there
Not in equal number
But it is possible to say that the voices of the women
Became louder at a certain point
And I had a neighbor with an accent
Who would ask me

What's happening here
What's going on
And it wasn't that I knew how to tell her or wanted to
But I was a kind of conduit for her

And so I said in passing that

The situation is bad and we mustn't stay quiet


And she told me about the place she had lived in the past

And about the injustice she had experienced

She says

I don’t want that here


I don't want that here either


Like this I leave the building

To the road which doesn’t know left from right

Only my neighbor and I

On the dark stairway

In the silence

Before all.
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