The Shore of Ashkelon

ISSUE: Autumn 1996

Here at the shore of Ashkelon we arrived at
the end of memory
like rivers that reach the sea.
The near past sinks into the far past
and the far past rises from the depths
and overflows the near.
Peace, peace to the near and the far.

Here among the broken idols and pillars,
I wonder how Samson brought down the temple
where he stood blind and said: “Let me die
with the Philistines!”

Did he embrace the pillars as in a last love
or with both arms push them away
to be alone in his death.

Yehuda Amichai

Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000) is recognized as one of Israel’s finest poets. His poems—written in Hebrew—have been translated into forty languages, and volumes of his work have been published in English, French, German, Swedish, Spanish, and Catalan. He received many awards and honors during his life, including a Literary Lion Award from the New York Public Library.

Chana Bloch

Chana Bloch’s poetry and translations have appeared in the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, and the Nation, among other places. Her collections of poetry include Blood Honey (Autumn House, 2009), and she edited and translated Yehuda Amichai: The Selected Poetry (Harper & Row, 1986) with Stephen Mitchell. Her awards include the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and two Pushcart Prizes. Her translation, with Ariel Bloch, of The Song of Songs was named a Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year.