Gedicht
Dahlia Ravikovitch
When the eyes open
Snow on the mountainsabove the High Places
and above Jerusalem.
Come down O Jerusalem
and return my child to me.
Come O Bethlehem
and return my child to me.
Come high mountains
come winds
come floods in the harbors
and return my child to me.
And even you, O bent bulrush,
thin stalk in the stream,
stringy desert bushes,
return my child to me
as the soul returns to the body
when the eyes open.
© Translation: 2009, Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld
From: Hovering at Low Altitude: The collected poetry of Dahlia Ravikovitch
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 2009
Notes:
"Bent bulrush" in line 12 is a direct allusion
to Isaiah\'s critique of hypocritical piety (Isa. 58:5).
In Israel, divorce and custody issues are under
the jurisdiction of rabbinical courts.
The final lines of the poem echo Modeh Ani,
the morning prayer thanking God for returning
the soul to the body.
From: Hovering at Low Altitude: The collected poetry of Dahlia Ravikovitch
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 2009
WHEN THE EYES OPEN
© 1992, Dahlia Ravikovitch
From: Mother With Child
Publisher: Hakibbutz Hameuchad, Tel Aviv
From: Mother With Child
Publisher: Hakibbutz Hameuchad, Tel Aviv
Gedichten
Gedichten van Dahlia Ravikovitch
Close
WHEN THE EYES OPEN
From: Mother With Child
When the eyes open
Snow on the mountainsabove the High Places
and above Jerusalem.
Come down O Jerusalem
and return my child to me.
Come O Bethlehem
and return my child to me.
Come high mountains
come winds
come floods in the harbors
and return my child to me.
And even you, O bent bulrush,
thin stalk in the stream,
stringy desert bushes,
return my child to me
as the soul returns to the body
when the eyes open.
© 2009, Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld
From: Hovering at Low Altitude: The collected poetry of Dahlia Ravikovitch
Publisher: 2009, W.W. Norton & Co., New York
From: Hovering at Low Altitude: The collected poetry of Dahlia Ravikovitch
Publisher: 2009, W.W. Norton & Co., New York
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