Home : Poems : Merosh Zurim : The voice of the soil
The voice of the soil

I am-
Dead - yet vivify
Inanimate - yet fertilize
I am the grave
and the grain's furrow
The enemy am I, sinister and dark -
and Mother, sister, and bosom wife

My loam quivers
Upon your sole she pounds
On your feet, O Man, she knocks
As over me you trample - -
But your lofty spirit, Son of Earth,
Who soars on so high
Wherefore will you stoop?
How to me will you bow?!...

I long for you
Parted brother
Day by day
Your steps I kiss - -
Bit by bit
With the cords of my passion
I draw you.
Silently
I bide my time
'til, O Wanderer, you tire;
I await your return
When ebbs your day
And weary you will plunge
Into my embrace

From the Hebrew by Yanki Tauber

Click here for the Hebrew Original - המקור בעברית

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Merosh Zurim

• The present (p. 17)

• The leader (p. 34)

• The Trap of Time (p. 35)

• The Mission (p. 38)

• The Decree (p. 41)

• On the Doorways (p. 57)

• Freedom of Choice (p. 78)

• Mealtime Guests (p. 79)

• The Windmill of the Poet (p. 94)

• A Strange Sight (p. 96)

• The Foundation (p. 98)

• In Hiding (p. 113)

• Ratzo V'Shov (p. 125)

• Eating (p. 163)