Term of Office
For 15 years I served as a child until removed from my post
in this kingdom where the land was once trustworthy
and trees glittered in the rain.
Now the almond grove is dry, the bread fish have turned brown,
the tented sky collapses on Mount Leviathan, and love,
once on the tip of my tongue, sticks to the roof of my mouth.
.
by Isreal Bar Kohave
from Beh-karov ahava
publisher: Am Oved, Tel Aviv, 2005
Translation: Lisa Katz