This poem is a tribute to the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, who died on September 22, 2000, in the Hadassah Hospital that overlooks the village of Ein Kerem, located in a valley outside of Jerusalem.
The lines in italics are direct quotes taken from his poem “In This Valley.”
Ein Kerem
After In This Valley, by Yehuda Amichai
The road winds down into the valley
a valley like there are many here
carved out by many waters in endless years
with sudden breezes and instant stillness
valleys I have seen in the poems of Yehuda Amichai
poems that give words to speechlessness
that honor what was and was not
the in-betweens
like a breeze passing through the valley without being destined for it
The day is hot
From the hills, I hear voices of men, machines wrecking
To my right, a building stretches into the void
over pines and umber soil
like his name
a pledge to choose life
despite the abyss between heaven and earth
There are loves that must die in their place and their time
He died in the building on the crest to my left
At Miriam’s spring, naked children yell and splash water
in exhilaration, like only young children can
or truly happy people
I enter the garden alone, a sudden breeze
turns stillness into bouncing shadows
cools the sweat on my temples, my scorched words
In this valley, I want to sing of loves that last forever
I want to leave the wrecked buildings of my life behind
Julia Knobloch is a poet and rabbinical student, currently studying at the Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem.
