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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
I HAVE A GARMENT, by ABRAHAM IBN EZRA Poet's Biography First Line: I have a garment which is like a sieve Subject(s): Jews; Mysticism - Judaism; Judaism | |||
I have a garment which is like a sieve Through which girls sift barley and wheat. In the dead of night I spread it out like a tent And a thousand stars pierce it with their gleams. Sitting inside, I see the moon and the Pleiades And on a good night, the great Orion himself. I get awfully tired of counting all the holes Which seem to me like the teeth of many saws. A piece of thread to sew up all the other threads Would be, to say the least, superfluous. If a fly landed on it with all his weight, The little idiot would hang by his foot, cursing. Dear God, do what you can to mend it. Make me a mantle of praise from these poor rags. Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368-0271, www.cc.press.org | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE RABBI'S SON-IN-LAW by SABINE BARING-GOULD A LITTLE HISTORY by DAVID LEHMAN FOR I WILL CONSIDER YOUR DOG MOLLY by DAVID LEHMAN JEWISH GRAVEYARDS, ITALY by PHILIP LEVINE NATIONAL THOUGHTS by YEHUDA AMICHAI SOUNDS OF THE RESURRECTED DEAD MAN'S FOOTSTEPS (#3): 2. ANGEL ... by MARVIN BELL A SONG OF LIFE by ABRAHAM IBN EZRA |
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