Eli, Eli, shelo yigamer le’olam—
Hachol v’hayam
Rishrush shel hamayim
B’rak hashamayim
T’filat ha’adam
My God, my God, may these never end—
The sand and the sea
The rush of the waters
The lightning of the heavens
The prayer of humanity
–Hannah Szenes “Walk to Caesarea”
A Jewish poet and resistance fighter in WWII, Hannah was
discovered and executed in 1944 at the age of 23.
Eili, Eili, my God,
shelo yigamer le’olam:
Pacific breezes, sunrise greetings
from Twin Peaks.
Humans, God. Let us exist.
Shelo yigamer the marble cosmos
of my cat’s eye,
the soft breath of the
garden spider, trellising
from privet.
Eili, hear me now. Please.
Le’olam, never
end clean, clear water. Help us
stop choking our oceans
and air with radiation and
single-use plastic refuse.
Shelo yigamer le’olam the robin
on the wire, the raven
settled on the miter of roof,
the gargle and spit of neighbors
from their open windows.
Eili, my God, le’olam, never
end the march of ants
across these red bricks,
budworms that chew
my geraniums,
pink-petaled rock
roses, lacy wings
of tiny flies,
never end the scent
of lavender,
powdery between
my thumb and fingers,
the dog’s sneeze
as she follows the float
of a sparrow’s feather.
Shelo yigamer le’olam
water toppling onto
granite boulders,
scattered acorns
on the valley floor,
rainstorms that sweep
across landscapes,
rain forests of cobalt and coral,
island beaches with their
pesky flies,
blue skies.
Eili, help us do
what is right
to save our world.
Let it not become
a radioactive rock,
a soundless rubble,
home to boiling oceans,
a few confused roaches.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abby Caplin was a finalist for the 2018 Rash Award in Poetry, semi-finalist for the 2018 Willow Run Poetry Book Award, nominee for the 2018 Sundress Best of the Net Award, honorable mention for 2017 Quercus Fall Poetry Book Award, award recipient of the San Francisco Poets Eleven 2016, and finalist for the 2015 Anna Davidson Rosenberg Poetry Award. Her poems have appeared in Alyss, apt, Canary, Catamaran, Dunes Review, Love’s Executive Order, Mudlark Flash, Salt Hill, TSR: The Southampton Review, These Fragile Lilacs, Third Wednesday, Tikkun, and others. She is a physician practicing Mind-Body medicine in San Francisco. http://abbycaplin.com