רַכָּבוֹת אַחֲרֵי הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ

Jul19

רַכָּבוֹת אַחֲרֵי הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ .הָרַכֶּבֶת לְבֶרְלִין יָצְאָה בָּאִיחוּר שֶׁל חֲמִישִּׁים דַּקּוֹת
,הַגֶּרְמָנִים יְדוּעִים בְּדַקְדְּקָנוּתָם
,אֲבָל זוֹ הָיְיתָה תַּקָּלָה טֶכְנִית
,שֶׁהוֹבִילָה אֶת הַקוֹנְדָקְטוֹר לְהוֹרוֹת
.עַל הַחְלָפַת רַכֶּבֶת
.קוֹרֶה

,נוֹפִים עִירוֹנִיִּים מַגְבִּירִים מְהִירוּת
,מוּל הַחַלּוֹן הַמְּמוּזָּג
,וְאִי אֶפְשָׁר שֶׁלֹּא לְהַשְׁווֹת מִיָּד
,אֶת הַמַּסָּע הַזֶּה
,הַנּוֹחַ
,לְמַסָּעוֹת אֲחֵרִים
,עַל אוֹתָם פַּסִים מַמָּשׁ
,לִפְנֵי כַּמָּה עָשׂוֹרִים
.בִּקְרוֹנוֹת מִטְעָן חַנוּקִים

,צְרִיחֵי כְּנֵיְסִיוֹת מַשְׁקִיפִים גָּבוֹהַּ
,מֵעַל הַמָּגֵן הָאָקוּסְטִי שֶׁלְּאוֹרֵךְ הַמְּסִילָּה
,גַּם הָרַכֶּבֶת הָזוּ חוֹלֶפֶת בִּיעַף לְדַרְכָּהּ
.מִבְּלִי לְהַפְרִיעַ אֶת מְנוּחַת הַשְּׁכֵנִים

,אֶפְשָׁר לַחְשׁוֹב לְרֶגַע
,כַּמָּה טוֹב וּבָטוּחַ לִנְסוֹעַ כָּאן הַיּוֹם
,אֲבָל מִיָּד נִזְכָּרִים
,שֶׁמַּמָּשׁ לֹא רָחוֹק מִכָּאן
,נוֹסְעִים לָהֶם אֲחֵרִים אֶל הַלֹּא נוֹדָע
,שֶׁהָפַךְ אֶת חַיֵּיהֶם
.לְגֵיהִנּוֹם מוּכָּר

,מָסָךְ הַמֵּידָע בַּקָּרוֹן
,מַצִּיג פִּרְסוֹמֶת עַדְכָּנִית
.בְּצַד זְמַנֵּי הַגָעָה מְדוּיָּיקִים
,בְּעוֹד שָׁעָה וּשְׁתֵּיים עֶשְׂרֵה דַּקּוֹת
.נַגִּיעַ לַתַּחֲנָה

,זוֹ אוֹתָהּ הָעִיר
,וְאֵלֶּה אוֹתָם הַפַּסִים
,וְהַיּוֹם הַכּוֹל אַחֶרֶת
,אֲבָל בְּאוֹפֶן מְסוּיָּים
,לֹא הִשְׁתַּנָּה כָּאן
.כְּלוּם

Trains After the Sun

The train to Berlin left fifty minutes late.
The Germans are known for their meticulousness,
But it was a technical glitch,
Which led the conductor to order,
A train replacement.
It happens.

Urban landscapes increase speed,
In front of the air-conditioned window,
And it is impossible not to compare immediately,
This journey,
Convenient,
To other trips,
On exactly the same track,
A few decades ago,
In suffocated cargo cars.

Church steeples overlooking high,
Above the acoustic shield along the track,
This train, too, flies on its way,
Without disturbing the rest of the neighbors.

It is possible to think for a moment,
Of how good and safe it is to travel here today,
But immediately remember,
That not so far from here,
Others travel to the unknown,
Which turned their lives,
To a familiar hell.

The information screen in the car,
Displays a popular advertisement,
Along the side of accurate arrival times.
In an hour and twelve minutes,
We will reach the station.

This is the same city,
And these are the same tracks,
And today everything is different,
But in a way,
Not much has changed here,
Nothing.

English Translation

July 18, 2022

Awake

Jul4

Awake Horny cats yowl a cappella,
In a fiery summer night dating ritual.
Heated fights pierce the collective hum,
Of air-condition units,
Struggling to cool down the humid air,
And tempers,
Swirling over the sleepless metropolitan.

Making love is a sticky venture,
For the furred,
And the furless.
Lust driven by hormones,
Gamed by opportunity, determination,
And a good dose of timing and luck.

Electrode fingers, rubbing bodies,
Touching, sensing, probing,
Trying,
Producing sweat, raising temperatures,
Generating fun-static electricity,
Pleasure,
And envy.

Street lights glow through the window shades,
I lay beside you,
Listening to your quiet breathing,
And yowling silently.

July 2, 2022

אֲגַם הַשְּׁכוֹל

May3

אֲגַם הַשְּׁכוֹל ,כְּמוֹ לַהֲקַת עָגוּרִים עֲצוּמָה
,שֶׁהִתְכַּנְּסָה לָהּ לִשְׁנַת הַלַּיְלָה
,עוֹמְדוֹת לָהֶן לְבָנוֹת וּשְׁקֵטוֹת
,בְּשׁוּרוֹת אֲרֻכּוֹת וּמְסֻדָּרוֹת
,עַד קַו הָאֹפֶק
.לְלֹא קוֹל אוֹ מַשָּׁק כָּנָף, דּוֹמְמוֹת

,מִכָּאן לֹא יַרְחִיקוּ עוֹד נְדוֹד
,לְחוֹפִים כְּחֻלִּים בְּאֲרָצוֹת רְחוֹקוֹת
,לֹא יְחַזְּרוּ אַחַר בְּחִירֵי לִבָּם
,לְהָקִים בַּיִת, לְקַנֵּן כְּזוּג
,לֹא יִדְגְּרוּ יַחַד וְיַדְרִיכוּ גּוֹזָלִים לָעוֹף
,לֹא יַמְשִׁיכוּ תּוּר וְיַזְקִינוּ בְּמוֹרָד הַשָּׁנִים
.כְּדַרְכָּם מִתָּמִיד שֶׁל הַעָגוּרִים

,בְּשָׂדֶה רְחָב יָדַיִים נָחִים הֵם עַכְשָׁיו
.כָּתֵף אֶל כָּתֵף, אַחִים בַּדָּם
,יֵשׁ מֵהֵם שֶׁנָּחֲתוּ כָּאן זֶה מִכְּבָר
,וַאֲחֵרִים שֶׁהִצְטָרְפוּ אַךְ תְמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם
,הַיְישֶׁר מִן הַקְּרָב הָאַחֲרוֹן
.אֲשֶׁר כְּתָמִיד אֵינוֹ כָּזֶה

,אֶל הָאֲגַם מַגִּיעִים מְבַקְּרִים
,עוֹפוֹת מִשְׁפָּחָה, צִפּוֹרֵי חֲבֵרִים
,יוֹשְׁבִים לְצִדָּם, מְסַפְּרִים וְזוֹכְרִים
.אֵרוּעִים, חֲוָיוֹת, כְּשֶׁהָיוּ עוֹד חַיִּים
,מִי הָיָה הוּא הָאִישׁ, מִי הָיְתָה הָאִשָּׁה
.אֵיךְ הָלְכוּ בְּחָטַף, כֹּה קָשָׁה הַתְּחוּשָׁה

,יוֹם קָדוֹשׁ הוּא הַיּוֹם
.מִכָּל שְׁאַר הַיָּמִים
,עוֹד לֹא תַּמוּ קְרָבוֹת
.בֵּין גְּבוּלוֹת וְעַמִּים
,לוֹ יְהִי, מִי יִתֵּן, מַגָּשׁ כֶּסֶף, דָּמִים
,אֵין זֶה תָּם וְנִשְׁלָּם
.כָּךְ חַיֵּינוּ חַיִּים

Lake Grief

Like a giant flock of cranes,
That gathered for its night sleep,
They stand there, white and straight,
In long, organized lines,
To the horizon,
Without sound or wing flap, silent.

From here they will no longer migrate far,
To blue beaches in distant lands,
Will not court their beloved,
Build a home, nest as a couple,
Will not incubate together and teach chicks to fly,
Will not continue touring and grow old down the years,
As is the way for the cranes.

In a vast field they now rest,
Shoulder to shoulder, brothers in blood.
Some have landed here long ago,
And others joined only recently,
Straight from the last battle,
Which as always is not that.

Visitors arrive at the lake,
Family fowls, friend birds,
Sit by their side, tell and remember,
Events, experiences, when they were alive.
Who was the man, who was the woman,
How they abruptly left, so hard is the feeling.

Holy day is today,
From all other days.
Battles have not ceased yet,
Between borders and peoples.
Lu Yehi, who shall give, silver platter, blood,
It is not finished,
Such are our lives.

English Translation

May 3, 2022 ,ב’ אייר, תשפ”ב

Circle of Love

Apr25

Circle of Love Home is where love is,
Love is where you feel safe,
Feeling safe helps you become inspired,
Being inspired gives you strength,
Strength saves you from danger,
Inspiring you to expand into new worlds,
Where you can discover strength, safety, and love,
Reinforcing your home.

December 6, 2021

Vultures

Apr11

Vultures The wind blows in waves of dry leaves,
Yellow dust,
And delicate rumors.

Gusts of courtships,
Whispers of relationships,
Tales of failure and success,
Whisked from mouth to ear by blooming curiosity,
Arrant jealousy,
And sprinkles of fear and worry.

The ventures of preying birds,
Soaring over the prairie,
Diving into circling flocks,
Disturbing their flight,
Staining their feathers,
Upsetting the good order of nature,
Its boundaries and manners,
Drawing chaos and fear.

Riders of confidence thermals,
And kindness gusts.
Robbers of trust and warmth,
Chasers of fantasies and imagination,
Charging onward in a drive to conquest,
Unwilling bodies, resisting souls,
Who seeks nothing but peaceful existence,
But are forced to flee,
To hide,
From the menace.

Quests are made to stop these ravens.
Hints heavy as tree trunks,
Are dropped in their path.
Pleas clear as a blue sky day,
Fade into thin air,
In grand ignorance,
As the cuckoos rush to vanquish,
Their object of desire.

The flock soars up,
Flies in closer formation,
More cautious,
Warily mindful,
Of the skies above.

March 30, 2022

Defiance

Mar22

Defiance Long lines of people,
By car,
And on foot,
Mothers clutching their children to their chests,
Or walking them by the hand.

The older boys had stayed behind,
To fight forces greater than,
A Molotov cocktail, a stone,
Or a gun.

A proud nation stands defiant,
To defeat invading forces.
No time to bury its dead,
Or mourn them.

Large cities crumble under the weight,
Of the bombs and the tanks and the hate.
Morning rises, the war rages on,
Under blue skies and yellow gold pride.

March 21, 2022

Mid-Day Poetry

Jan27

Mid-Day Poetry Stomach murmurs jab at the concentrated mind,
The work project is set aside,
Giving way to meal choices,
And food preparations.

Reading through a magazine over a warm plate,
Bright sunlight washes over the table,
Outside, a bone-chilling blue-sky day,
The cat sleeps at his spot on the window sill.

Peaceful silence, only a distant car hum,
Thoughts run wondersome over the kitchen sink,
To the frozen yard outside,
And lost in the cloudless heavens above.

January 26, 2022

Dialogue

Jan20

Dialogue Words conveyed,
Sent,
Read,
Replied.

Bearing thoughts,
Wonders,
Worries,
Snapshots of passions.

Expressing hopes,
Fears,
Love,
The gamut of emotions.

Spoken with voice and typed by fingers.
Skating on a surface of emotions that stretches between the horizons of sight and time.
The sun rises and sets.
Seasons turn.
Lives are born and lost.
Expressions continue to flow,
Weaving the fabric of life with depth and meaning,
To form the evolving picture of humanity.

January 18, 2022

Artist Unblocked

Dec20

Artist Unblocked Sun rays, traveling through vacant space,
A straight course to the edge of nowhere,
Shining heavenly bodies along their path,
Discovering new directions upon chance reflections.

Some rare, select few penetrate the stifling Earth clouds,
Land softly into the soul,
That had craved them for a spiritual millennium,
Of a creative terra firma.

Hints of words, buds of ideas,
Emerge from the cracked soil,
Grow into a tale, a poem,
That blooms with relief and excitement.

Freedom reclaimed, the impediment dissipates,
Effervescent lightness floats the spirit,
Onto green pastures of fertile imagination,
To be harvested, while the light shines.

December 15, 2021

The Week After

Dec9

The Week After The air stands still in the empty rooms,
Sunlight glistens through the barely opened shades,
The kitchen is organized, borrowed tables and chairs are back at the neighbors,
The house is reclaimed.

Loved ones, family members and friends,
Have packed and gone to their homes,
Yet the mind swirls with memories and thoughts,
Of conversations and emotions that still echo.

Endearing exchanges, sneering words, common family dramas,
Soul munchies to nibble on through the long withdrawal,
With the morning tea, the mid-day walk,
The late-night unwind.

The workweek began and reigns again,
Early morning meetings, late-night emails,
Short meal breaks and quick exchanges of friendly texts,
Small tokens of a familiar routine.

The emotional storm that rocked the insides,
Gave way to calm, cold, winter days,
The tea kettle is boiling, another glance at the sunny yard,
Thanksgiving is over, for at least another year.

Ophir Palmon, writer

poetry, fiction, life stories, שירה, סיפורת

Category Archives: Poetry