After Death
Following Parshat Shmini, in which Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, die
The silence of Aaron remained in the air
Even after the last stone
Covered the grave, after the strange fire
Consumed the flesh.
This silence lies in wait behind all the poems,
Behind all the talking, behind the music
That draws tears, the music that can,
The music that can what the silence cannot.
In the twilight of the death of the holy ones
Soon I will light candles to light the worlds
And the scent of apple cake will fill the rooms
And azure sheets fly in the wind from the sea
To the bed and beneath the Sabbath tablecloth
And in the red wine will float the letters of silence
Within the holy words that sanctify the time
Will lie the mound of memory and will pull
The inner glance and the bit of challah
That is brought forth from the earth
Will cover over the great darkness hiding
Beneath all the words.
Translated by Toby Klein Greenwald