PAINFUL BIRDS
—translated from the Hebrew by Ward Kelley and the author
—from Rattle #22, Winter 2004
Tribute to Poets Writing Abroad
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Elisha Porat: “My small kibbutz, my small village, is located at the Sharon plane in Israel. The short way, the air way, from Samaria to the main hospitals is directly above my roof. So, when I’m sitting to my papers, trying to work, the terrible noise of the helicopters clenches the fist of my heart. The helicopters are the bad birds of the burning Middle East. They carry the tragic reality of the endless war. I try to shut my ears to this sad din, but I cant. So the writing of the poems is my imaginary shelter.”