נקרע

בַּלַּיְלָה בָּא אֵלַי
הַנַּעַר מֵהָאוֹטוֹבּוּס הַמְּפֻיָּח.
נִקְרָע מִמֶּנִּי שׁוּב וְשׁוּב
כְּשֶׁיָּדָיו נִקְרָעוֹת מִמֶּנּוּ, וְרַגְלָיו,
וַאֲנִי אִמּוֹ.
מִלָּה מְהִירָה
           אִמָּא,
אוּלַי נִפְסְקָה בְּפִיו
כְּשֶׁנִּבְלַע בְּתוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ.
כָּל הַלַּיְלָה אֲנִי מְנַסָּה לְהָשִׁיב אוֹתוֹ
לְיַלְדוּתוֹ אֲשֶׁר יָדְעָה
לְהִתְנַחֵם בִּנְּשִׁיקוֹתַי
עַל כָּל מַכָּה וְחַבָּלָה.
בַּבֹּקֶר צִפּוֹר הָרַדְיוֹ
עוֹלָה מִמְּכוֹנִית לְחַלּוֹנִי
לְצָוֵחַ נָקָם וְשִׁלֵּם:
יָרוּ אוֹ לֹא יָרוּ,
פָּגָז אוֹ לֹא פָּגָז,
לַמִּטְבָּח אוֹ לְקִיטוֹן הַשֵּׁנָה,
עַל שִׁלֵּשִׁים אוֹ גַּם עַל רִבֵּעִים,
שְׁנֵי יְלָדִים (מַה הֵם עָשׂוּ שָׁם בִּכְלָל)
אוֹ רַק אִשָּׁה הָרָה,
זָקֵן חֵרֵשׁ אוֹ קַלְגַּס סוּמָא –
קוּמִי צְאִי
מִבַּלָּהָה לְבַלָּהָה.

© Tal Nitzán
Aus: An Ordinary Evening
Am oved, 2006
Audioproduktion: Helicon, 2010

Torn

At night he comes to me,
the boy from the scorched bus.
He is torn from me again and again    
as his hands are torn from him, and his legs,
and I’m his mother.
A quick word
                      mother 
maybe it was cut off in his mouth
when he was swallowed by fire.
All night long I try
to take him back to his childhood
which knew how to take comfort in my kisses  
on every blow and bruise.
Morning comes
and the radio bird
rises from a car to my window
to screech revenge and recompense:  
They shot or didn’t shoot,
a shell or maybe not,
into the kitchen or onto a cot
third generation or maybe fourth,
two kids (what were they doing there anyway)
or just a pregnant woman,
a deaf old man or a blind soldier –
Now arise, get thee out
from nightmare to nightmare.  


Note: The phrase "arise, get thee out" in the penultimate verse is taken from the the Friday night prayer Lecha Dodi. In this verse, the Sabbath queen is enjoined to rise up out of destruction and to leave the Valley of Tears.

Translated by Tal Nitzán & Vivian Eden