Shaul Tchernikhovsky

You See, O Earth

You see, O earth,
how very wasteful we have been:
In your secret laps of blessing
we hid seed - not the clean
Glass-clear pearls of spelt,
but seeds of heavy wheat,
Grains of yellowish barley,
oats on frightened feet.

You see, O earth,
how very wasteful we have been:
Flowers of flowers we hid in you,
fresh with glorious sheen;
They were kissed by the earliest kiss
of the sun just coming up,
Burying beauty with graceful stem,
with the crown of the willing cup;
Before they could know noon
in the midst of innocent sorrow,
Before dreaming of light in growth
or drinking dew upon the morrow.

The best of our sons we brought you,
youth of purest dreams,
Clear in heart and deed,
untouched by earth's dark streams,
The cloth of their years yet woof,
a cloth of hopes to be,
We have none better than these.
Earth, did you see?

And you shall cover them all.
Let the plant rise in its season!
A hundred measures of might and glory,
for people, homeland vision!
They atone for our lives in glory,
their sacrifice unseen...
You see, O earth,
how very wasteful we have been.

Psalms

Psalms of faith in distress, like:

# 3,
# 8,
#23.

Psalms of prayer and comfort, like:

# 20,
# 71,
# 77,
# 90,
#102.

Book of Kohelet [Ecclesiastes]:

Chap.2, verses 3-8, "To everything there is a season..."