Snow in Jerusalem

by Marc Mangel

 

Whiteness gleams and weighs heavy on all

For even a holy city, if there be any, id not

tax exempt when the tax is

heavy and wet and white.

The golden dome capped in white sleeping hat

surely must have slumbered

as no calls rose from the peaks

for the calls were beat down by the snow

 

which also showed those walls of Herod what is

realy strong

and how man is weak

as the stone weeped and

rotted.

 

As the Torah goes from Tzion

in came the whiteness

wet and wild

the hills — sometimes green and sometimes brown —

lost their brown quickly and painlessly

surely

but not forever

and all that marked the pureness were the green

beacons rising slowly but ever straight

and the hills shone in the sun

for twice there was sun through

the grey

 

other trees were luckless

and fell

after fighting the great white father

hard but they wearied

and spirits weakened

they could not hold up their shields

so they toppled

softly

crashing

into hard ground eased by whiteness

 

or they bravely stood

and fought

hoping and praying for warmth

 

Those roads, those slow and tortuous

desparately winding roads

disappeared

gobbled and hidden away

Hoping perhaps to be used again one day soon.

Man nor beast could find those roads.

 

Hungry people

not yet hungry in their stomachs

but hungry in their minds

hungry in their hearts

made empty by snow.

hungry people rank and bought

the bread of life and milk

white as snow.

 

January 1973