A man-child they call Abie
Name's Menachem Levy (Levi in Hebrew rhymes with Abie)
A scion of the orchards and fields
played 'soldier' with sword and shield
1964, age 19, left for dead three kilometers behind enemy lines
clawed his way back to the border through thicket and landmine
One leg paralyzed, arms nearly useless
climbed from a pit using his teeth ~
14 operations later, limbs ok, not toothless
1973, single-handedly captured Egypt's Third Division in a bunker
250 troops and their head, transported to jail in five transport clunkers
Unassuming hero, hauling irrigation pipes in jeans and muddy shoes
Menachem 'Abie' Levy, born and bred in Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu
~ Tribute to Kibbutz
Sde Eliyahu ~
45 years vanished
my heart yet beats
for the tiny farming village
my purest, unsullied love
the people mostly gone
who helped me find myself
their still-life photos sit upright
on tear-stained worn bookshelves
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