Table Of ContentAMEN
Othebro oksb yY ehudaA michai
SoNGSo Fj ERUSALEAMN DM YSELF
POEMS
NoTO F THIST IME,N oTo FT HISP LACE
AMEN
YEHUDA AMICHAI
Translatferdo mt heH ebrewb y
thea uthoarn dT ed Hughes
HARPER &: Row, PuBLISHERs
NEW YORK,H AGERSTOWNS,A NF RANCISCLOO,N DON
AMEN. Copyrig@h t1977b yY ehudAam ichaIin.t roducctoipoynr i@g h1t977
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Designed by Gloria Adelson
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Amen.
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Contents
IntroductbiyTo end Hughes 9
SevenL amentfso rt heF alleinnt heW ar 19
I." MrB.e ringer" 19
2." Asa c hihledm ashpeodt atoes" 19
3." Thmeo numenoftt he unksnoolwdni er" 20
4. "If ounadno ldt extbook" 21
5." Dicwkasy h it" 22
6." Iasl olft hiss orrow?" 22
7. "Memoriadla fyo trh wea rde ad" 24
Poems frao cmy clcea lle"dP atrioStoincg s" 26
I." Oubra bwyas weaneidn t hfier sdaty s" 26
2." Thwea rb rookueit n a utumn" 26
3." Octosbuernw arms oufra ces" 27
4." Ih avneo thtions ga ayb outthw ea r" 27
5." I'svheu mty seilfn " 28
7. "Thbel oereocdt itnhgpe en is" 29
8. "Whahast thdeea db urnedm anb equeattoush ?e"d 29
10. "Is omettihmieansbk o mutyf athers" 29
II." Thteo wIn w as borni n" 30
I5." Evemny l ovaersme e asurbeydw ars" 31
I6." As onogflo verisn J erusalem" 32
I8. "Thgrea veisnJ erusalema rgea tes" 32
2I.' 'jerusalemi sa p lacweh erael rlemem ber" 33
24." Theya rbeu rnintghp eh otographs" 34
25." Ano ldg ymt eacish berr oiling" 34
5
2 8".O hw,h oh ast hqeu ieftaechseert e ?" 35
29." Peotpralev fealra watyo s ay" 36
33." As onogfm yh omeland" 37
34." Letth mee morhiiarllel m ember" 37
35 ." Ins ummepre,o polfde ifsef rennatt ions" 38
36." Evenriyg Ghotd t akheisgs l ittering" 39
37 ." Allt hose aslttloh nisesos rr,o" w 40
A MajestLiocv eS ong 41
Outinagt S omeB eautiPflualc e 43
A BridWei thouDto wry 44
LoveS ong":I ts tartleidk teh is" 45
Oncea GreaLto ve 46
Song 47
LoveS ong":H eavayn dt irewdi tha womano na
balcony" 48
LoveS ong":P eoplues ee acho ther" 49
LittSloen go fT ranquillity 50
TheP ortugueSsyen agoguienA msterdam 51
The SynagoguienF lorence 52
The SynagoguienV enice 53
IH aveM anyD ead 54
I HaveB ecomeV eryH airy 55
On My Return 56
My FatherM'esm oriaDla y 57
A Man forP lay 58
A SongA boutR est 59
My Soul 60
Losti nG race 61
Quietjoy 62
A Younjge rusalPeome t 63
6
Songt oa Friend 64
LetteorfR ecommendation 66
The CandleWse ntO ut 67
IdeaLlo ve 68
A SongA bouta Photograph 69
A MemoryA dvanciinngt toh eF uture 70
A Dog AftLeorv e 71
The DayI Left 72
To SpeakA boutC hangeWsa s toS peakL ove 73
Paino fB eingF arA way 74
No One PutsH isH ope 75
SometimeIs' m VeHrayp pya ndD esperate 76
The Songo fM y FatherC'hse eks 77
We WereN ear 78
TakeM e tot heA irport 79
LoveP oemi nC alifornia 80
FourP oemsA boutP eople 82
1. "SoI m epte ofprleo mmy p ast" 82
2." Nothtion gab neg rya bout" 83
3. "Ansdo y ofiun dy ouraslewlfa sytsa nding" 84
4." Theisr aeb iridnt hsek y" 85
ID reamAtb outY ou 86
Sadnesosft heE yesa ndD escriptioofan J so urney 87
To a Convert 88
My Mothearn dM e 89
TodayM y Son 91
DenniWsa s VeryS ick 92
To RememberI sa Kindo fH ope 93
7
Harlema, D eadS tory 94
He Who Forgets 95
RuthW,h atI sH appiness? 96
MenthoSlw eets 97
GoneA ret heD ayso fN ight 98
Ina LeapY ear 99
SheT oldM e Nott oC ome 100
A MutuaLlu llaby 101
Liket heI nneWra llo fa House 103
A CzechR efugeien L ondon 105
Letter 106
TheS weetB reakdowonfA bigail 108
WithS adS lyness 109
A Tall Girl anPdr eVceirsye 110
8
Introduction
by Ted Hughes
In 1966, when the first issue of the magazine
Modern PoeItnryT ranslawats ibeoinng prepared,
Daniel Weissbort, the Editor, found some translations
of the Israeli poet Y ehuda Amichai and sqowed them
to me. We were both greatly intrigued and excited by
them. They eventually appeared, in that first issue, in
powerful company: Zbigniew Herbert, Miroslav
Holub, Vasko Popa. These poets were the same
generation as Amichai, early 1920s, and each one of
them had some claim to being among the dozen most
remarkable poets alive-a judgment that still holds
good after eleven years. It seemed to us that Amichai
shared their stature and something of their family
likeness. Nevertheless, he stood a little apart, and with
the passing of time it has become clearer just how
radically different he is. In 1966, it was already
noticeable that where the three poets from behind the
Iron Curtain gripped one's imagination and held
one's awe, somehow Amichai's verse attracted and
held one's affection as well. It became involved with
one's intimate daily experience in a curious way.
With this third volume of his translated poetry to
he published in the U.S., I am more than ever
convinced that here is one kind of poetry that
satisfies, for me, just about every requirement.
9
