P oetry R epair S hop (1999.08: 095)
- CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL POETRY
- by new, emerging, and established poets

ELISHA PORAT
A  Longing


On Memorial Day I surrender
to a longing for my dead.
The wail of the siren shrieking
above the eucalyptus tops
is sounded from afar as if
it were a private whistle-code
between me and them. As if
presently they'll rise
shake off the dust,
lean their bikes against the fence
and whistle back to me.
As if time gathers again
into the funnel of the electric siren:
it goes down through iron and grounds
the awful wailing
deep in the earth.

Translated by Tsipi Keler.

Poem copyright 1999; all rights reserved. (If you desire a copy of this poem, please contact the AUTHOR).