Rivka Bassman-Ben Haim  

who died this March, keeps speaking to me in Yiddish.  I think she wrote this when she was 98 and I translated it and forgot about it.  Today I found it on my desktop.  Did I publish it?  I have no idea:

A word

 

The words wait

until they can wait no longer

and reveal a tear

uttered in the silence of night,

a plea.

Lord God, hear what these words say

hours from now,

years from now,

as if the soul would speak

in a night-time language

to be heard, understood.

A word should be like a kiss

given alone.

Then it brings the morning

Sheltered from sun

May the word to the morning

bequeath a poem.

 

 

1 thought on “a word from Rivka Bassman-Ben Haim”

  1. May she rest in peace and may her memory be for a blessing . Know you must have given her much joy. Her legacy is secure as you keep her flame lit .Her husband was also a huge talent in his own right as well . A fantastic artist. I love the picture of Lida he did that you used for your book. They must have been quite a pair back in the day.

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