From Forget It

It was not necessary to study

the language

of a strange country;

anyway, it would be of no help.

It was not necessary to know

where Italy or England

is located;

travel was obviously

out of question.

It was not necessary to live

among the wild beasts

of Noah's ark,

which had just devoured

the last dove of peace,

along with Noah

and his virtuous family.

It was not necessary to strive

for some holy land

awash in milk and honey,

according to rumor.

To Fr. Armando

Everyone, after all, was killed:

he who was crucified,

he who died without skin,

he who died without a head,

he who was drowned,

he who was thrown down

from the wall of the Temple,

which shortly after that

ceased to exist.

Everyone, after all, was tormented;

he who was put at the mercy

of lions and Neros,

he who was roasted on the bonfire,

he whose eyes were gouged out.

Everything was justified

on the excuse that no one

can live eternally

and that it is impossible

to avoid death.

Through the narrow gates of paradise

passed so many martyrs

that the gates in the end

had to be widened.

Kudos to the executioners!

REGINA DERIEVA is a Russian poet and writer who moved to Israel with her family in 1991 from the former Soviet Union but as a Catholic was denied Israeli citizenship. She now lives in Sweden. Information about her life, books, and recordings can be found at http://www geocities.com/pilgrim_star_1999/RD.htm.

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