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Returning to Jerusalem

Once we could be justly proud
Our place marked in the human maze
By devotion to the sacred books
And diligence of prayer, upon
Steady accretion of analysis

Once we could be satisfied
To live by what we understood to be
Identities the Lord bestowed
Upon our humble lives, our lines
Measured by the centuries

Once we were made wise
By sufferings in wide variety
Borne in reverence for His Name
Consolations of our family embrace
And the long perspectives gained

Once we almost were content
To speak the name Jerusalem
A love beyond reproach and reach
To which we would compose our songs
Of praises and mythology

And once then we were slaughtered
Not sporadically, but by an awesome
Purpose and intent. Surviving,
Many could not make from this
A tolerable weight, the burden

Of our anguished discontent
And a God we never met. And now
With final knowledge of the hate
The world can bring, we will accept no more
To live at any distance from our dreams.

So strong we have become
Dealing in death and pain
Sanctioned by some authority unnamed.

And yet there are survivors still who hold
A Liberation Ball each year, saying
We'll dance as long as we are here

While others shout in bold
With land and borders to defend
No longer free to know who they once were.

I hope we can return with song
To praise Jerusalem
When time to claim our history has come

When we have sadly learned to see
That what we think is strong
Grows frail, as if to fall eventually.

poem by Frank Bana
Added by Poetry Lover
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