Paper Bridges: Selected Poems of Kadya Molodowsky

God's Children

God's Children I came to the great King Solomon, An old woman, no longer lovely, He wouldn't want me as number one-thousand-and-one, So I sat down at his gate with the lowly. At the king's gate, they tell stories: How a star shoots out from a spark, And God's children, the barefoot, the faithful, The luminous, hark and hark. How the judge has become such a fool, Dressing up in velvet clothing, And God's children, the barefoot and faithful, Sit in brightness, laughing, laughing. There they tell of their favorite wonders, How the dead are brought back to life, And God's children, the barefoot and faithful, Know full well how to come back to life. How sometimes the angels, folding their wings, Show themselves to the good and the pious. And God's children, the barefoot and faithful, Sit in splendor, and bless and bless. There they tell of the fiery miracles: How wellsprings broke through desert land. And God's children, the barefoot, the faithful, The drunken sit, and their voices resound. The king comes out after sunset, His wisdom has no measure. The king sits among God's children And hears of his palaces' treasure: 505 pr *?3ttsixttpx mrt 506 The mechanical bird at his window, Golden bears that growl by his throne. Never has he seen such a palace, And he weeps heavy tears, alone. 507 jnr^sn |sn*?5 px - ijn^ifc x - *y>tf x •JTtrV |1§ bvvyi X ,|Vn5 pD IDT X BTS mp x pjnn ]yp ,-isnn ijn lyDimsyi K •rrma ps ^nxn nyi p??ii ps D^X DD^ oy - ^ ^K fK DK v x n^n x *px n^n x D^W njn DS-ISTI ^o^x rx DD^V Dxi . min ps - ^ ^x px DX x n^^sn x nxn T»KW ^yaVsrr snasns •inn py ps y ^ y s ^ x TX p^ii ps BD^V DJ; 508 ...