Ein Yahav

A night drive to Ein Yahav in the Arava Desert,

a drive in the rain. Yes, in the rain.

There I met people who grow date palms,

there I saw tamarisk trees and risk trees,

there I saw hope barbed as barbed wire.

And I said to myself: That's true, hope needs to be

like barbed wire to keep out despair,

hope must be a mine field.

Translated by Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld