Gershon Wolf Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

Anyone who has been in Israel for more than a whirlwind tour will probably relate to some, if not all, of the lines of this poem.  Those who have lived there (probably) know the scenario presented herein all too well...May peace come speedily in our lifetime!!

It'Ll Be Fine

I am a Sabra,*                 *A native-born Israeli
   Uzi** at the ready;           **Submachine gun (standard army issue)
   Confident, brave:
     "Yi'hi'ye tov!"***            ***"It'll be fine" - Hebrew for a Sabra's standard,
                                          incongruously optimistic hope for the future.
   Sunflower-seed shells
   Spat onto battlefields.
     Cigarette ash,
     Matted air;
     Everywhere dust,
     Tanks of rust.

   I am a Sabra,
   Uzi at the ready;
   Confident, brave:
     "Yi'hi'ye tov!"

   Child trapped
   In warrior's helmet:
     Gesturing heatedly,
     Laughing anxiously,
     Barbed-wire nerves
        Dangling
     Arms limp, weary
     Draped over coffins.

   I am a Sabra,
   Uzi at the ready;
   Confident, brave:
     "Yi'hi'ye tov!"

   Life goes on,
   A Time-bomb ticking:
   Can't cry anymore,
     Never could;
     Heart racing
     To the next Tragedy
     Bleeding my Soul.

   I am a Sabra,
   Uzi at the ready;
   Confident, brave:
     "Yi'hi'ye tov!"

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Line Gauthier February 24, 2018 at 10:20 PM Awesome poem, Gershon. My husband participated in Special Olympics in 1968 (1st year for Canada) - they were held in Israel, he had just turned 18 and it was memorable - seeing those uzis or whatever it was the guards carried back then... it was tense he says. Gershon Wolf February 24, 2018 at 10:34 PM Israel's the same now. (See my reply to your comments on "Are You Listening" My apologies for mixing up my responses)...At any rate, it never ceases to amaze me that after all the wars, deaths, terrorism, and anti-Jewish hatred directed against Israel, the majority of Israelis still want and hope for peace with the Arabs. Amazing!