Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

A Nation in Pain

What can I say I sit astounded By the events Which have surrounded A nation stunned From young to old A week we watched The pain unfold One by one No rest, no peace As tzaros fail To stop, to cease

From old to age

Of innocence

The mishpat that

He did dispense

 

It’s hard to speak

It’s hard to write

For poetry

Is simply trite

To cast reflection

On the night

 

I’m no prophet

Nor a sage

I lack wisdom

I lack age

 

Yet in my years

I’ve walked this ground

I have not seen

Such din repeat

In ways profound

 

Babies suffering

For years

Pass amidst their

Parents’ tears

 

And young boys, vibrant

Full of zest

Snatched away

At His behest

 

Week after week

Our light goes dim

With news of losses

Harsh and grim

 

From every mosad

Around the world

The news of losses

Round us swirled

 

Rav Don, Rav Dov

Rav Nosson Tzvi

Each month

We hear

Another three

 

Rav Yitzchok Dovid’s

Life so pure

Eight years of suffering

And yet his eyes

That could not see

Would harmonize and sing

 

And revel in the Torah

His children came to learn

And though his body hardly moved

They saw his soul did yearn

 

Rav Nosson Tzvi

In agony

His body racked in pain

Would never cease

To just increase

Kevod Shomayim’s reign

Around the world

He would traverse

And never once complain

 

The leaves

Are stripped

Our tree

Lies bare

We stand unsheltered

Wait in fear

What next?

I ask

Will we soon hear?

 

Accidents and drownings

And sudden news that dazed

We listened with

Our heads turned down

Or eyes reddened and glazed

 

A rov mistaken

And then shot

By those sent to protect

A tragedy that

Makes no sense

No way to introspect

 

What lessons did

Each one of them

Give us through their lives

And though the guf

Has left this world

So much indeed survives

 

The chessed of the bochurim

The kiddush Hashem they brought

The parents of the tiny babes

For whom their lives they fought

 

I’m awed by all the tragedy

The range, spectrum and scope

Despite despair

And awe and fear

There always will be hope

 

I’m sure that wise men

Will have their say

And tell us what to do

But for myself

There’s but one thing

Just be a better Jew

Twitter
WhatsApp
Facebook
Pinterest
LinkedIn

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST NEWS

My Take on the News

Political Upheaval in the Government I am not sure if you heard much about it, but there was a minor explosion in the government last

Read More »

Command and Control

Should I do it? Should I actually mention those two words that are taboo to so many people, especially to the ezras noshim? You know

Read More »

NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to stay updated