By
– January 11, 2012
Bar-Yosef ’s poems reflect both the tragic and the joyous aspects of life represented by night and morning. She covers the “ages of man,” ranging from early youth to old age. In the poem “Embrace,” she describes a hike as a memory of:
About my present she said: It’s better
to make one large thing.
More than fifty years I’ve remained
stunned.
an embrace of light and wild yellow
weeds.…
the air generous with trembling in
the sun
flowed with milk and love.
weeds.…
the air generous with trembling in
the sun
flowed with milk and love.
More than a hike, it is an impressionistic depiction of youthful feelings at one with nature, which can only be articulated later on in life. And then there is the evocation of youthful wounds that last. From “A Present:”
I was nine when I decided to make
my mother a birthday present…
a surprise…something she would like
and that would make her a little
happy.
In secret I sewed a handkerchief, a
table-mat, a duster
something resembling a wallet.…
my mother a birthday present…
a surprise…something she would like
and that would make her a little
happy.
In secret I sewed a handkerchief, a
table-mat, a duster
something resembling a wallet.…
From my father my mother received
a silver brooch from Bezalel
made of filigree threads in the shape
of twin mountains.
She pinned it to her blue dress,
between her breasts.
a silver brooch from Bezalel
made of filigree threads in the shape
of twin mountains.
She pinned it to her blue dress,
between her breasts.
About my present she said: It’s better
to make one large thing.
More than fifty years I’ve remained
stunned.
Longing for love is another stage of life that may occur at any age and at any time. “At Four Thirty in the Afternoon” a tree is compared to “a child at daycare whose parents are late/ready to embrace any strange adopting arm.” An understanding of the effect of romantic love is beautifully portrayed in “When You Stay Here:”
When you stay here
I weigh less.…
When you come to me
there is non-stop Mozart
on the radio.…
I weigh less.…
When you come to me
there is non-stop Mozart
on the radio.…
Old age is not a neglected stage of life either, in these poems. In “When I Was in High School,” she describes her anger at her mother and claims:
I swore
I would marry and never again see
your wrinkled face
which always envied the other
mothers…
I would marry and never again see
your wrinkled face
which always envied the other
mothers…
She describes her rage at her mother for preventing her from doing many things, including sending a love-letter to a married man, and ends the poem with a wistful remark about not being able to remember what other things she was so angry about:
I’m too old now and my wrinkled
face
which always envies the other mothers
is needed by no one but you.
face
which always envies the other mothers
is needed by no one but you.
She writes about feelings as sharply as if she were in her twenties, so it comes as a shock that she was born in 1940. The keenness of her emotions has never dimmed, it seems. It makes for powerful reading.
Eleanor Ehrenkranz received her Ph.D. from NYU and has taught at Stern College, NYU, Mercy College, and at Pace University. She has lectured widely on Jewish literature and recently published anthology of Jewish poetry, Explaining Life: The Wisdom of Modern Jewish Poetry, 1960 – 2010.
