Young Writers Society

Ahhhh it's almost April again! That means-- it's time-- to freak out about being very busy but wanting to write a thousand poems in a month anyway!

Haha well ready or not, it's that time of year again, and I'm going to do my best to do a poem a day. I'm fully prepared for the possibility that life could get in the way, so if there is no other way, I could settle for a hearty halfway, but no less. I also reserve the right to write after midnight on Saturdays, because I can't write during the day on Shabbat and I always end up with a lot to do after sundown.

But anyway, here we go! Just a week until NaPo begins, and I'm ready as I'll ever be! I'm looking forward to completing another beautiful month of poetry with all of you!

די
Dai, "it is sufficient"

I sweep away the blackened crumbs,
I scrub away the dust,
Is my cleaning perfect, Lord?
No, child, but enough.

The food I'm fed is far from pure,
My mouth speaks goyish stuff,
I try to keep commandments, Lord,
And trying is enough.

I sing the blessings morn and night,
My language wrong and rough,
Are my prayers heard, my Lord?
You're singing clear enough.

I'm marching ever further on,
I'm crossing every bluff,
Am I getting close to you?
You're never close enough...

@Elfboy that is a beautiful poem.

My favorite stanza is:
"I sweep away the blackened crumbs,
I scrub away the dust,
Is my cleaning perfect, Lord?
No, child, but enough."

@queenshadowgem aww thank you <3 I'm glad you liked it ^^

דממה
Damamah, "whisper"

Why are you here, my child?
Why have you sought these sacred spaces?
You seek my face me in mighty mountains,
You search for my name in high places.

Turn away from the thunder, child,
My name was never spoken there.
Walk away from the fire and blood,
You try to condemn those whom I spare.

I never asked you to hold back the skies,
I never asked you to bring back the dead,
I never told you to slaughter the wicked,
I never wanted some thirty-score heads.

Hear the great winds, child, do you hear my name there?
Feel the earth tremble, child, have you felt my strong hand?
Watch the flames roar, child, is that my face you behold?
All of these things, child, are worthless as sand.

Nothing but this is my name, my face,
This unspoken breath that dwells in your ear,
The things you have seen are merely my footsteps,
I am the still, small voice that you hear.

So I ask again, beloved child,

Why
are
you
here?

Ah Hebrew and poetry and scripture? !! Looking forward to seeing where you go with these Elf!

This second poem I'm assuming is kind of a reflection of either Elijah, or someone in an Elijah-like-crisis? Definitely one of the most heart-breaking stories; and I really enjoy how you've expanded it sort of exploring the rest of the emotional content of what could have been behind the Lord's short words to Elijah.

I enjoy the little nuggets of lines that seem like references to other things like using "dwell" in the 2nd poem (like the Hebrew word for tabernacle) and then in the first one all the references to dust which comes in all over the Torah. Well done! And good luck with the rest of the month!

Thank you @alliyah! You hit it right on the nose, it's inspired by Elijah's encounter with G-d on Sinai. I had just finished rereading First Kings and it was just too poetic to ignore!

I'm glad you like the Hebrew haha, I'm doing all my titles that way this month because I'm bad at making titles to help me expand my vocabulary a little, and set a different tone. And I'm glad you noticed the Torah references! It's good to know I'm not being too obscure haha. Thanks for the feedback, and good luck to you too!

זכור אותי
Zekor Auti, "remember me?"

My head is cluttered with
Endless illegible paper scraps,
Mind dried like parchment
On barren sunburnt stone.
Remember the beginning, love?
I haven't forgotten your smile
Even if you forget mine--
Sometimes one memory is enough for two of us.

Hi there NaPo buddy! You've got some great poems here so far, the first two are really beautiful. I am not religious myself so there are some references that went over my head that alliyah caught, but I still enjoyed reading your work! I really liked the last line from your April 3rd poem, when you wrote "Sometimes one memory is enough for two of us". Your April 4th poem is also very relatable haha, I've been dealing with writer's block lately so NaPo is a little hard this year but I'm determined to keep writing

@mckaylaam thank you so much! Haha yeah I've definitely been having my fair share of writers block too, but it's nice to have a reason to force the poems out ^^

Thanks for reading all that NaPo buddy! I appreciate it <:

דובדבן
Duvdavan, "cherry"

Clear spring droplets coat my cherry blossom,
Stirring her from her long winter slumber,
Calling sap in the cold grey boughs to flow.
The gentle rain patters like a heartbeat,
Pulsing through the trees, misting her petals
with the lifeblood the cold air stripped away.
What magic of life, this silk-gowned beauty,
Emerging resplendent from her slumber
Catching me spellbound in the light of a dawn

oh my gosh! I love these poems!

@hannah0528 thank you so much! I'm glad you liked them ^^

אפר
Efer, "ash, dust, nothing"

Sullen fibres ring
as smoking pages fill the air
Broken fragments of sunshine fall
like dead ashes to the ground
nothing sliver gleaming true
nothing burning crisped to black
only paper grey and soot
filling gravestones with the ash