His prayer stand

by Abba Kovner

(1918-1987)

Is there a prayer for one who prays like him
seething. He has offered no sacrifice, built

no altar. He has not grasped the coattail
of a flying angel,

nor placed his trust in the mercy of heaven;

is there a prayer for one who prays like him

seething. Once he loved the lonely

dweller in the sky. He remembers

the day he lost his patience waiting

for the echo of his cry for help

to come back from empty space.

His prayer stand now

is the nickel clothes hanger

above his bag of bones wrapped

in a chilly sheet as he prays

before bottles hovering

like acrobats on trampolines—

is everything liquid? Is there nothing

solid—

after the infusion?

Translated from the Hebrew by Eddie Levenston