Before Sleep by Moshe Dor
In an effort not to tank on my good PotD record (since I started posting again), here’s a quick one before I fall into bed. (I thought it was appropriately named.)
Before Sleep
By Moshe Dor (translated by Barbara Goldberg)
1.
Before sleep Baba arranges extra
blankets on her feet. “The weight,”
she explains, “will keep me
from flying.” Walnut trees
hold still in the garden.
2.
Baba sleeps, her cheek pressed
to the pillow, her hair flowing.
In the garden walnut trees
turn silvery.
3.
In silence I shall steal
to her bedside, dismantle
the burdens of her life, then turn
my back and tiptoe away. Baba
is flying, above walnut trees, above
wandering souls. She soars
higher than milky ways and choirs
of seraphim. When she returns,
her hair will be heavy
with the dust of stars.
