Poems

By Prof. Ada Aharoni

A Bridge Of Peace

"They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid." (The Bible, Micah 4.4)

"He who walks in peace, walk with him." (The Koran, Sura 48)

My Muslim sister, daughter of Abraham like me,

Let us build a sturdy bridge

From your olive world to mine,

From my orange world to yours,

Above the boiling pain of acid rain prejudice -

And hold human hands high

Full of free stars of twinkling peace

I do not want to be your oppressor

You do not want to be my oppressor,

Or your jailer, or my jailer,

We do not want to make each other afraid

Under our vines and under our fig trees

Blossoming on a silvered horizon

Above the bruising and the bleeding

Of poisoned gases and scuds.

So, my Arab sister, let us build a strong bridge of

Jasmine understanding

Where each shall sit with her baby

Under her vine and under her fig tree -

And none shall make them afraid.

I Want to Kill You War

I want to kill you war, forever,
not like a phoenix
that always comes back

I want to kill you war
and I don't know how
and I don't know why
all the people of the world
don't join hands
to kill you war --
you the greatest murderer
of them all.

They just know how to kill
the one or the two
or the hundreds and the thousands,
but not you,
you the greatest killer
of them all.
The peace marchers
take the slab of marble
on which is enscribed:
'We want to live - not die
and carry it away under whizzing bullets
like a living corpse
still warm.

A Green Week

A week like fresh mint,
a green week spreading
its fragrance to the roots
of my being

"Have a green week!"
My father used to bless us
on Saturday nights, in Cairo,
after the Havdala prayer,
"Have a green year"
he beamed,
brandishing a fresh mint sprig
over our curly heads -
and give it back
to the world
fully blossoming.

Who will give me
a green week
now that he's dead?
Now that the Gates of Heaven
are shut?
Only peace
only a fragrant mint peace.

Listen to the song "A Green Week" (in Hebrew)
(MP3 - 336KB)
Melody by Yigal Alfasi, Sung by Anat Yagen.

About Prof. Ada Aharoni - IFLAC Founder & President

About IFLAC

From the Nile to the Jordan - A Book By Prof. Ada Aharoni

You and I Can Change the World - A Book By Prof. Ada Aharoni

Articles published in HopeWays' 'News & Views' section

Visit Ada Aharoni's web site

Visit the IFLAC web site

In Memorium
The IFLAC website is dedicated to the memory of thirty year old lawyer, Anat Rosen Winter, who was blown up at the "A Propos Coffee House" in Tel Aviv, by a suicide bomber, in March 1997. Her baby daughter was saved when Anat shielded her with her body and received all the murderous blast.

in the last 12 months

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