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  Vigil Light

  Zeev Kachel, 1988

  I lit a vigil light in the heart of men,

  So they’ll find the path once I am gone,

  The grass will whisper a the words of my poem then

  The most alluring star will signal before dawn

  At last the hardships of my journey will abate

  And in space I'll drift for a long, long run

  Upon my resting place, a pale moon will dilate

  And wolves will wail, calling out for the lone one.

  Because I praised the beauty in what's human

  Blue dust of stars will inscribe my name

  An eternal vault I erected in the heart of men

  The wick of my candle shall be set aflame

  I scattered words around me, with no regrets

  While rocks laid heavy, heavy on my heart

  I let fly the sparks of my soul, my poems, my vignettes

  And so I'm left here, naked and apart.

 

  A Memorial

  Zeev Kachel, 1992

  I have erected a memorial for myself in the heart of men

  It won't crumble, as long as on the morrow

  Someone will come to feel my pain, and then

  Will strive to solve the universal sorrow

  Then like diamonds, my tears will shine

  And blind my enemies wherever they may be

  The words I wrote in silence, line by line

  Will point the way for every dreamer, there to see

  You'll always find a spot of muck, on any surface

  Another parasite who feeds upon your strength

  Don't retreat, my friend, just don't be nervous

  Under the glass, even a leech seems magnified in length

  They will disappear without a trace, a smidgen

  You and your poem will continue to excite

  Because your truth, the truth that they have hidden

  A young person will come, and bring to light5.

 

  A Lone Wolf

  Zeev Kachel, 1989

  When I will no longer be, my paintings will speak for me

  And my poems—

  When I will no longer be—

  My absence will speak for me

  When I will no longer be.

  And then—

  You will say:

  He was a good man, but an angry one

  A man of quarrel and strife.

  He was one-of-a-kind.

  He flew by like a bird

  Very separate. Distinct.

  And severe.

  It's a pity he's gone.

  A lone wolf.

 

  Time Crawls Slowly

  Zeev Kachel, 1989

  Time crawls slowly but it flies by fast

  Up there on the hilltop my torch is ablaze at last

  About to flow away to a stormy sea, I start

  With everyone else around me, but somehow set apart

 

  Fantasy

  Zeev Kachel