Mommy

A poem by my father, Zeev Kachel

Translated from Hebrew by Uvi

You gave me life through pain and suffering

And in your bosom, I suckled my first milk 

You taught me, in the world’s arena, how to go on walking

And amongst the beasts, how not to blink.

You prayed in private for my health, wellbeing 

To a hidden God sitting in judgment over fates 

You sacrificed yourself and right from the beginning

Shielded me under your wings from any danger that awaits.

Still clinging to you despite being cut away, I wailed.

Wherever I went, I sensed your omnipresence.

I always felt, in the sea into which I sailed,

The warmth of motherhood, the chill of your absence.

For you, only you I cried as life turned bitter, Mommy.

On the snaking road, my heart aflame amidst the hurdles 

I was lured down by desires — till your image stood before me

Blocking off my path with a pair of the Sabbath candles.

Can We Still Love

Poetry

In an era that is amazement and wonder on one hand, and destruction and hate on the other, and facing the threat of an even more horrific holocaust in our future, two poets present a piercing question: can we still love? And love means one another, human to human.

This book is the 'I believe' statement of the poet, author and artist Zeev Kachel, a man whose most closely-held values and aspirations have been put to the test in the course of WWI and WWII. It is also the 'I believe' statement of his daughter, USA Today bestselling author, poet and artist Uvi Poznansky, who compiled her own work alongside his, and translated his poems from Hebrew so they can become an inspiring force to you.