A Collection of Poetry in Light of the War in Israel
Swords of Iron, October 7, 2023
Because we are just a shell, only a leaf – within us is the great death and that is the fruit, around which everything revolves
“The Book of Poverty and Death”, Rainer Maria Rilke[l1]
Disaster and crisis suddenly befell Israel, our beloved country. Evil people, emissaries of Satan, acted mercilessly, unrestrained in murder, massacre, slaughter and decapitation.
In this collection, Israeli poets voice a poetry that is blazing, burning, raging with grief and anguish over what took place to the people in the settlements of the Gaza envelope.
This is poetry of lament and mourning that even the angels would cry to hear, and that every person must burn with in pain and identification.
Shula Barnea – A poet and writer, bibliotherapist, facilitator for parents, couples and seniors. She has published six books of poetry and three books of prose.
Inferno, 7/10/23 Shula Barnea
Translated by Lauren Port
It burst forth suddenly, with full force
as terrifying as ever, destructive, shattering
burning without mercy, without rest
it burst through the door of our lives with steel claws
grabbed babes by the throat and slaughtered
left horror and terror in its wake;
come to check its deeds, Satan
applauds, satisfied –
mission accomplished, complete.
Poems Rachel Bachar
Translated by Lauren Port
Even the pastoral
can die
from fury,
the shock knocks down the terror.
Even the idyll, green
like a chameleon, can turn black,
flowers can die
from fear.
Even the tiles from red-roofed homes
can fall
in the rage of fire,
screaming out violence.
Rachel Bachar, is a poet and writer for young children, a painter and multidisciplinary artist. She has published three books of poetry, performs on stage and her poems have been published in numerous anthologies.
In Each and Every Rebirth Shuki Guttman
Translated by Lauren Port
In each and every rebirth
a nation must see themselves
as though they immigrated from Poland.
As it is said –
remember that which has been done
and be strong of body.
In each and every rebirth,
a nation must praise the muscles of their legs
that take their strength from the holy ground
to hover in position without mistakes,
to stay in the air
and make an impossible transition.
As it is said –
keep the breath steady
carry light
live up to expectations
and land softly,
therefore, in each and every rebirth
you have to rise to a great height
as it is said –
don’t shudder at the turn
and don’t fall on the bend;
we came to the land to triumph.
Shuki Guttman is a poet, educator and mentor for personal development, cultural entrepreneur, and poetry editor and founder of Eshkolot Poetika – Hebrew Poetry for the People. He is a member of the board of the Association of Writers.
Siren Tova Zlotogurski
Translated by Lauren Port
No, not courage just a bottle of water, a litter-box in the corner, the cat’s water, my welfare put aside. It’s no longer interesting. Any work drowns, and how could I speak poetry,
and in the window pregnant letters, the spacing, the commas, the full-stop. Something over there darts, swells, erupts from afar. A bird risks its life to come, it may be furrowed clouds, maybe tidings,
urgently I wait. What if the shofar is blown in a city and the people do not tremble?
And still I can hear it. The horizon quivers. One forced word escapes
siren*
* “If a shofar[ram’s horn] is blown in a city, would the people not tremble? If evil comes upon a city would it not be done by God?” Amos 3:6
Involved in theatre, Tova Zlotogurski has written prose, drama and poetry on and off since the age of 14.
The Last Moments of Zehava and Ze’ev Hacker Balfour Hakak
Translated by Lauren Port
Our memories from Be’eri,
from Zehava and Ze’ev Hacker,
take the form of beautiful objects.
We saw them coming out of the Sukkah in Jerusalem,
and all the objects there in Be’eri
upon the set table
are now charred remains.
There is a bowl of juicy oranges
and cut vegetables.
Here’s the lampshade from the reading light, illuminating for the murdered
the book they were reading just before their death.
The petals that remain in the vase drip
drops of dew, drops of pure blood,
the book now on the table is charred.
The murdered left behind their simple house
dragged by brutal men
to another house in Be’eri,
there, shot to death.
When the siren was heard in the streets of the south
their chance was lost,
they only saw the stuff of nightmares,
and watching them
the light of the sun in the window
flickering and trembling, still.
In their death they were very tied to other people,
that is to say: they were bound together, a firing squad.
The wall opposite them, a row of shooters,
no rams, no angel.
The air outside was filled with the screech of birds.
All the birds, witnesses, their noise led us
to the dead lying bound.
The smell of death was boiling, burning,
in the courtyard, the Jasmine flowers breathed it in.
In the face of the searing smell, the flowers
ashamed to give their scent.
In the trees around them, the cries of the birds,
in the air, the noise of the sirens.
The Hamas-murderers called:
Allahu akhbar,
all the dead who were shot heard nothing…
In their death they remembered the cries of joy
from the Sukkah in Jerusalem
where pomegranates hung, red, radiant.
Here in Be’eri, there were cries of hate
and grenades.
The great sounds turned in on themselves
Zehava and Ze’ev Hacker, slaughtered and burned,
were covered in their own blood.
Since then, their table has remained set.
Let their memory always be blessed.
Balfour Hakak is a poet. He served as chairman of the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel (2005-2011). Born close to the Declaration of Independence in 1948, he was the winner of the International Bible Contest in 1965, and his twin brother Herzl was the runner-up. He has published eleven books of poetry and written books on research, children, lexicon and more, in collaboration with his brother, Herzl. He has been the recipient of various literary prizes including the Jewish Culture Prize, and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Four Poetic
Etudes on the War Amikam Yissor
Translated by Lauren Port
Hostages are paraded in the video from Hamas
and I contemplate the captives who marched
humiliated and hunched, in Roman triumph, back then.
Is it really true that it doesn’t last forever?
From the north I hear the barbarians attacking
in a roar of endless joy, over Rome.
And there is no wall and there is no tower
and the silent sound of the destruction bleeding horrifies
more than the roars of a thousand missiles.
The pain of downfall, the stench of death,
deserted houses. The muted sounds of lament.
They even shoot dogs.
Amikam Yissar is a graduate of the University of Haifa’s Department of Hebrew Literature and Department for Teacher Training. He has published a collection of stories, two collections of poetry, four collections of non-fiction, nine student-aid booklets for literature, and short stories and children’s poetry in a children’s magazine. Yissar lectures at literary events and is a book reviewer on Facebook.
Relief / Hagit Bat Eliezer
Translated by Dafna Renbaum
The security of civilians is trampled.
Skies thunder.
Here, cowering in the corner
far from the window.
Frightened: a missile? Enemy aircraft?
The terror of those threatened.
Relax: October, autumn,
nature reigns.
The clouds are motherly:
softly enveloping,
concealing from enemy eyes.
Is a storm expected?
Surely, it’s rolling thunder,
beginning of the rainy season.
I run to the window: raindrops
The danger has passed!
Hagit Bat Eliezer – Poet, translator, poetry editor, cultural critic, plans and officiates literary events. Published four books of poetry.
Sukkot Holiday Slaughter / Michal Doron
Translated by Dafna Renbaum
Fire and blood sever the Sabbath and holiday holiness,
massacre at daylight in golden fields,
trees of green wore steel,
youth and innocence devastated in a moment.
Fate is sealed
who will live, who will die,
flung between loss and living
until the end of one’s soul and the sword,
land without quiet, without compassion, bleeding
with a wound in a human heart
sorrowful Torah Holiday, slaughter, late
twenty twenty-three.
Michal Doron: Poet, writer and graphologist, MA Behavioral Sciences. Researches author’s manuscripts and lectures on the relationship between graphology, literature and psychology. Published a book of prose, Beyond the Bare Hills.
Simchat Torah* / Eran Turjeman
Translated by Dafna Renbaum
Morning,
Sabbath day,
Simchat Torah holiday
siren,
for a moment, uncertainty
spreads through town
frightened children
in the skies: interceptions
terrorists enter
the cities
scenes of dead
of innocent civilians
until when cries
an elderly man
while still reading Psalms
and a small boy
his eyes to the skies
begs the Creator for mercy.
Simchat Torah: Holiday of rejoicing with the Torah*
Eran Turjeman writer and poet, works in the Dimona Municipal Library, has published five books (three children’s books, a book of poetry and a book for teens).
Ruins / Shula Barnea
Translated by Dafna Renbaum
Cows moan, engorged with milk
dogs, cats and chickens roam, homeless -
all have been murdered: the milkers and the farm hands,
bodies, skeletons, ash and soot – everywhere
above, eagles circle, ready to seize the prey
foxes howl among the ruins,
the essence of Hell has lodged itself here,
chaos and terror clutch at our throat.
Shula Barnea – A poet and writer, bibliotherapist, facilitator for parents, couples and seniors. She has published six books of poetry and three books of prose.
[l1]This is not the correct reference and needs to be changed.