Young Ram

ELISHA PORAT

I, who was a young ram in Jerusalem,
a muscular young ram in Jerusalem,
strutting proudly on the steps of Jerusalem,
now carefully weigh every step and every stair
leading to my old abandoned lovers' haunts.
I move awkwardly down the slopes,
helpless as the Jerusalem stones.
Clinging desperately to the memory of my youth:
a forgotten classroom lesson
on the cruel and unforgiving principle
of the inclined plane.

Translated from the Hebrew by Cindy Eisner.

Elisha Porat writes on a kibbutz in Israel.

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