(1) Alas! Lonely sits the city Once great with people! She that was great among nations Is become like a widow; The princess among states Is become a thrall. (2) Bitterly she weeps in the night, Her cheek wet with tears. There is none to comfort her Of all her friends. All her allies have betrayed her; They have become her foes. (3) Judah has gone into exile Because of misery and harsh oppression; When she settled among the nations, She found no rest; All her pursuers overtook her In the narrow places. (4) Zion’s roads are in mourning, Empty of festival pilgrims; All her gates are deserted. Her priests sigh, Her maidens are unhappy— She is utterly disconsolate! (5) Her enemies are now the masters, Her foes are at ease, Because Adonai has afflicted her For her many transgressions; Her infants have gone into captivity Before the enemy. (6) Gone from Fair Zion are all That were her glory; Her leaders were like stags That found no pasture; They could only walk feebly Before the pursuer. (7) All the precious things she had In the days of old Jerusalem recalled In her days of woe and sorrow, When her people fell by enemy hands With none to help her; When enemies looked on and gloated Over her downfall. (8) Jerusalem has greatly sinned, Therefore she is become a mockery. All who admired her despise her, For they have seen her disgraced; And she can only sigh And shrink back. (9) Her uncleanness clings to her skirts. She gave no thought to her future; She has sunk appallingly, With none to comfort her.— See, O Adonai, my misery; How the enemy jeers! (10) The foe has laid hands On everything dear to her. She has seen her Sanctuary Invaded by nations Which You have denied admission Into Your community. (11) All her inhabitants sigh As they search for bread; They have bartered their treasures for food, To keep themselves alive.— See, O Adonai, and behold, How abject I have become! (12) May it never befall you, All who pass along the road— Look about and see: Is there any agony like mine, Which was dealt out to me When Adonai afflicted me On God's day of wrath? (13) From above God sent a fire Down into my bones. God spread a net for my feet, God hurled me backward; God has left me forlorn, In constant misery. (14) The yoke of my offenses is bound fast, Lashed tight by God's hand; Imposed upon my neck, It saps my strength; Adonai has delivered me into the hands Of those I cannot withstand. (15) Adonai in my midst has rejected All my heroes; God has proclaimed a set time against me To crush my young men. As in a press Adonai has trodden Fair Maiden Judah. (16) For these things do I weep, My eyes flow with tears: Far from me is any comforter Who might revive my spirit; My children are forlorn, For the foe has prevailed. (17) Zion spreads out her hands, She has no one to comfort her; Adonai has summoned against Jacob God's enemies all about him; Jerusalem has become among them A thing unclean. (18) Adonai is in the right, For I have disobeyed God. Hear, all you peoples, And behold my agony: My maidens and my youths Have gone into captivity! (19) I cried out to my friends, But they played me false. My priests and my elders Have perished in the city As they searched for food To keep themselves alive. (20) See, O Adonai, the distress I am in! My heart is in anguish, I know how wrong I was To disobey. Outside the sword deals death; Indoors, the plague. (21) When they heard how I was sighing, There was none to comfort me; All my foes heard of my plight and exulted. For it is Your doing: You have brought on the day that You threatened. Oh, let them become like me! (22) Let all their wrongdoing come before You, And deal with them As You have dealt with me For all my transgressions. For my sighs are many, And my heart is sick.
Eicha – Al֣as! A cou֝ntry once bui֙lt on the pro֗mise of lib֖erty and jus֥tice for a֑ll now isol֤ates her֝self fr֣om the cri֔es of tho֖se seeking saf֥ety on֣ her shoֽres.
Bui֤lt by the ha֝nds of ref֣ugees and immig֔rants, she
ch֖ips aw֥ay at the r֖ight to asyl֑um,
disp֝ensing with fou֣nding prin֔ciples so ess֖ential as her DNֽA.
For֝gotten are the tir֙ed, the po֗or, the hu֖ddled masses yea֥rning t֣o breathe frֽee.
G֝one is the dre֙am of prot֗ection in the fa֤ce of viol֝ence a֣nd persec֔ution.
“H֖er ene֥mies are no֖w the mastֽers” (1:5). Inhum֝ane exe֤cutive ord֝ers bar֖ring Mus֥lims an֣d ref֑ugees.
Jar֛ringly sepa֖rating par֥ents fro֣m childֽren.
Kee֝ping out compa֙ssion and dece֗ncy, a w֖all in their pla֑ce.
La֖dy Liberty we֥eps at her shut֖tered gatֽes.
Mi֝xed multit֤udes we we֝re whe֣n we left Mitzr֗ayim, the nar֖row pla֑ce;
no֛w, the world narr֤ows around the ֣ 70 millio֔n disp֖laced pe֥ople aro֣und the gloֽbe.
On֝ly Go֤d’s voi֝ce ca֣n be hea֔rd bello֝wing ca֣lls to welc֔ome, pro֖tect, and lo֥ve the stra֑nger –
part֛ners in con֖tinued rede֥mption we a֣re no longeֽr.
Quie֗t in the fa֝ce of mo֣ral depr֔avity ar֖e her citiz֑ens,
reinf֛orced by hat֖eful rhe֥toric spe֖wed from se֖ats of powֽer.
Self-e֝vident tru֙ths –
that hu֤man bei֝ngs are cre֣ated eq֔ual, end֝owed by֣ their Cre֔ator w֖ith cer֥tain
unalie֣nable righ֑ts – und֖one by cowa֥rdice, mal֣ice, and greֽed.
Ve֗rily, we kn֝ow wh֣ere God dw֔ells am֖idst this suffe֑ring – Go֛d is in the ey֖es of those flee֥ing for֣ their liveֽs.
Why, th֝en, hav֤e we forsa֝ken the D֣ivine call to lo֤ve the stra֝nger as֣ we wo֔uld lo֖ve ourse֑lves –
xenop֖hobia inst֥ead taking ro֖ot in our soֽuls?
Yo֝u are the he֙ro fo֣r who֔m you֣ are sear֑ching:
Zi֝on can֤not be returne֝d to if we֖ do not first t֥urn to those ca֣lling our naֽmes.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
You came to our land of milk and honey fair,
and trampled through our woods, as if we were not there.
You ignored all our pleas for peace, and marched us to and fro,
and now we are scattered here and there with no place else to go.
You beat us like dogs, and expect us to bow down,
you made us hungry and weak, til we fall to the ground.
You took our daughters for wives, and made our nation weak,
you made cowards out of most, and now we are afraid to speak.
So now I humbly ask you, was it worth the fight,
to scourge our village, and raid us through the night?
You thinned out our bloodlines; you thought you were smart,
you may take the Indian from our blood, but never from our heart
-Anonymous
1 Remember, Lord, what happened to Michael Brown and Eric Garner; look, and see the disgraceful way they treated their bodies.
2 Our inheritance of the image of God in every human being has been co-opted and denied by others.
3 The children of Eric Garner have become fatherless, widowed mothers grieve their dead children.
4 We must scrap for our basic human rights; our freedom and our liberty has a great price.
5 Corrupt officers and officials pursue us and are at our heels; we are weary and find no rest.
6 We submitted to uncaring government agencies and to big business to get enough bread.
7 Our ancestors sinned the great sin of instituting slavery; they are no more—but we bear their shame.
8 The system of slavery and institutionalized racism ruled over us, and there is no one to free us from their hands.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the guns on the streets.
10 Michael Brown's skin is hot as an oven as his body lay out in the blazing sun.
11 Women have been violated throughout our nation's history; black women raped by white slave owners on the plantations.
12 Noble black men have been hung, lynched and gunned down; elders and spokesmen are shown no respect.
13 Young men can't find work because of unjustly applied laws; boys stagger under the expectation that their lives are destined for jail.
14 The elder statesmen and civil rights leaders are gone from the city gate; young people who speak out their protest through music are silenced.
15 Trust in our ultimate triumph has diminished; our triumphant dance has turned to a funeral dirge.
16 Our sense of exceptionalism has been exposed. Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our hearts are faint, because of these things our eyes grow dim
18 for our cities lie desolate with predatory lenders and real estate speculators prowling over them.
19 You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.
20 Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?
21 Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old
22 unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.
Soong-Chan Rah
she was scared years later
seven months pregnant daughters sat
guns pointed at temples on hills in the South
tears dropping dreaming of breaking
stomach cusped water never touched
back bent
dirt pathways thinking of their mother
leading to that warrior
dispossession how battles still
raged here and abroad
rocking boats
waves crashing orchards flourished
people rushing propagandists called
falling over each other them barren
packing into small spaces land expropriated
like memories for Europeans
thirsting for
her home territory
mandated
occupied colonist
cleansed non-native
conquered not from here
plant flags, call it home
terrorizers rename cities and villages
sat on hills uprooting graveyards
sniping children wiping/clearing/cleansing
neighbors fled memory that this
on April 10 is not theirs
word came
of massacre passed away
August 22, 2009
didn’t fight frail hands shook
didn’t leave lip trembled
shells and bombs didn't want to die
bursting in air but suffered decades
like anthems
she spoke in Arabic
prayed for the dead broken English
with priests and imams wounded words
prayed for the living and murmurs
looking over shoulders her eyes closed
for the Irgun and Haganah but every so often
they blinked brilliance
a warrior memories that could not
raised life be erased, uprooted
planted trees or cleansed
painted fruit
cared for the road she had not forgotten
as if it was her garden we have not forgotten
we will not forget
orphaned twice veins like roots
after birth of olive trees
from Palestine
whispered Yaffa we will return
till final breath that is not a threat
never knew essence not a wish
until she found a hope
emptiness or a dream
but a promise
48 ways to flee
and she found Beirut
bullet holes in buildings
reminder of home
but not home
-Remi Kanazi