A LITTLE PRAYER FOR SUNDAY*
Give me a break from flashing cops,
the HMO and the temples of social security,
from bookkeepers, the keepers of jargon,
and temp agency secretaries with helmet-like hair.
They’re been shooting here all morning;
the partridge hunters and the dogcatcher
roam my countryside.
Newspapers --
filled with black-fisted Orthodox men,
and high-strung poetry critics,
and openmouthed bulldozers --
fall like leaves upon my house.
Why is it such a big deal to yield
to a woman like me
who lets others cut her off on the roads.
I who lay me down to sleep with the hens
at the foot of the well-lit shopping malls --
Hear my prayer.
Please don’t add me to the culture package today.
I who am not exempt from anything --
Grant me permission
for one day off
from the army.
* Israel has a six-day work week. Sunday is a regular work day.
© Translated by Lisa Katz
From: Look There, [Re'eh Sham], Helikon-Tag
Give me a break from flashing cops,
the HMO and the temples of social security,
from bookkeepers, the keepers of jargon,
and temp agency secretaries with helmet-like hair.
They’re been shooting here all morning;
the partridge hunters and the dogcatcher
roam my countryside.
Newspapers --
filled with black-fisted Orthodox men,
and high-strung poetry critics,
and openmouthed bulldozers --
fall like leaves upon my house.
Why is it such a big deal to yield
to a woman like me
who lets others cut her off on the roads.
I who lay me down to sleep with the hens
at the foot of the well-lit shopping malls --
Hear my prayer.
Please don’t add me to the culture package today.
I who am not exempt from anything --
Grant me permission
for one day off
from the army.
* Israel has a six-day work week. Sunday is a regular work day.
© Translated by Lisa Katz
From: Look There, [Re'eh Sham], Helikon-Tag