A Twig Alighted

Hayyim Nahman Bialik 1873 (Ivnitsa, Volhynian Governorate) – 1934 (Vienna)



A twig alighted on a fence and dozed;
So do I sleep.
The fruit fell and what have I to do with my trunk,
What with my branch?
The fruit fell, the flower is already forgotten,
The leaves survive.
One day the storm will rage, they will drop.
To the ground, dead.
Afterwards, the nights of dread go on,
No rest or sleep for me,
Alone I thrash about in the dark, smashing
My head against my wall.
And again spring blossoms,
And alone I hang from my trunk
A bare shoot, without bud or flower,
Without fruit or leaf.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 16, 2023

30 sec read
75

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKLMCNO
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 503
Words 102
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 16

Hayyim Nahman Bialik

Hayim Nahman Bialik (Hebrew: חיים נחמן ביאליק), also Chaim or Haim, was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also in Yiddish. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was part of the vanguard of Jewish thinkers who gave voice to the breath of new life in Jewish life. Although he died before Israel became a state, Bialik ultimately came to be recognized as Israel's national poet. more…

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