Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Mount Bental, Golan Heights

 If you attempted to visit my blog over the past few days, to receive a little poetic refreshment, you would've been unable to do so. I'm so sorry. My domain name expired and I hadn't received notification to renew. As soon as I discovered the problem, I got in touch with my service provider and am glad to report that as of today "Maude's Poems" is up and running again...


Mount Bental, Golan Heights, Israel


SOMETHING LIKE SCARECROWS

Israel Pilgrimage—2006

 

We drive up and up

to what seems to be

the top of the world

and when we can drive

no farther, we walk

to the observation deck

of an old bunker

atop Mount Bental

in the Golan

 

Black silhouettes—

metal die cut-outs

of armed soldiers

rifles cocked and ready

are strategically situated

at the summit

to warn of Israel’s surefire preparedness

against any who would attack

the apple of God’s eye

 

deterrents—

like those vigilant

floppy-hatted scarecrows

stuffed with straw

poised to protect our crops

like the flat black metal hound dogs

I’ve seen wired to fences

in cemeteries and parks

to chase the Canada geese

 

Col. Shalom tells us

when he was twenty

he was given command

of sixty-four men, his age

It was here—

It was 1967

It was the Six Day War

 

2000 tanks

from Syria, Jordan

Egypt and Iraq 

versus Israel’s 200

 

Israel was victorious

It was miraculous

 

…and yet

he still hears

haunting cries in the night

of a wounded brother soldier

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Note: This Yom Kippur (2023) marks 50 years since the war in 1973.


Would you like to read more of my poems?


For information about ordering 

"Wonderhoods" or

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

visit my website at

www.maudecarolanpych.net

No comments:

Post a Comment