Metrical Friday: A Child Is Something Else Again

A Child Is Something Else Again
By Yehuda Amichai

A child is something else again. wakes up
in the afternoon and in an instant he’s full of words,
in an instant he’s humming, in an instant warm,
instant light, instant darkness.

A child is Job. They’ve already placed their bets on him
but he doesn’t know it. He scratches his body for pleasure. Nothing hurts yet.
They’re training him to be a polite Job,
to say ‘thank you’ when the lord has given,
to say ‘you’re welcome’ when the lord has taken away.

A child is vengeance.
A child is a missile into the coming generations.
I launched him: I’m still trembling.

A child is something else again: on rainy spring day
glimpsing the garden of Eden through the fence,
kissing him in his sleep,
hearing footsteps in the wet pine needles.
A child delivers you from death.
Child, Grden, Rain, Fate.

One Response

  1. Rob
    Rob at | | Reply

    Great blog! I’ve added a link to your blog on Blog of the Day under the category of Family. To view the feature of your blog, please visit http://blogoftheday.org/page/112534

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