Hebrew Poem- Translated by A Z Foreman Poems Found in Translation

Poems Found In Translation: “Avraham Ben Yitzhak: A Lonely Few Say (from Hebrew)” Avraham Ben Yitzhak: A Lonely Few Say (from Hebrew) Posted: 06 Dec 2015 01:42 PM PST This poem uses a peculiar blend of the rhythms of Biblical poetry and a music all the poet's own.  A Lonely Few Say By Avraham Ben Yitzhak Translated by A.Z. Foreman Click here to hear me recite the Hebrew "Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge" -Psalms [19:2] Day unto day leaves a dimmed sun, and leaves; And night mourns for night all night long And summer after summer is gathered up with downed leaves And the world in its sorrow gives song And tomorrow we shall die with word no more in us And shall stand at the gate at its closing, as on our last of days,1 And the heart rejoicing - for God has drawn us close- Shall tremble in fear of betrayal and repent of its ways. Day unto day bears a burning sun westward And night after night lifts stars to atone. On the lips of a lonely few, poetry pauses. We part seven ways and return by the One.2  Notes:  1- An echo of a phrase from the prayer that concludes the Yom Kippur service- "Open for us the gate at the time of the closing of gates, unto which the day has turned" 2- An allusion to the invocation Shma Israel, wherein God is referred to as "the One."