THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES SONGS OF A WANDERER SONGS OF A WANDERER BY PHILIP M. RASKIN PHILADELPHIA THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA 1917 COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA College Library 1PS 3535 7 To LOUIS D. BRAN DEIS As a mark of admiration and respect CONTENTS PAGE THE AUTUMN RAIN n THE JEWISH CHILD 13 MY SONG 15 MY BIRTHPLACE 17 A GHETTO MELODY 19 DISILLUSION 21 THE INTRUDER 23 THE WANDERER 28 You COMFORT ME 31 A GHETTO MUSICIAN. 32 SAND AND STARS 34 A GHETTO CRADLE-SONG 36 THE WANDERING JEW 39 THE ETERNAL RIDDLE 42 ISAIAH'S VISION 45 THE LOTUS PLANT 47 To THE SKYLARKS , 50 MY PEOPLE'S WOES 51 THE HOUR 54 To ENGLAND 55 THE LAST 57 THE STRANGER IN LONDON 59 THE HEBREW . 62 CONTENTS THE STRANGER 63 DAVID'S HARP 65 Two ANGELS 75 MESSIAH 77 THE DEAD ASSEMBLY 80 SATAN AND HAMAN 83 THE AGGADA 85 THE RABBI AND THE PRINCESS 89 KINDLING THE SABBATH LIGHT 91 THE IMPRISONED PRINCESS 93 MY MOTHER'S SONG 96 THE DYING POET 98 THE FIRST SNOW 101 BY NIGHT 103 " How FAIR . . . " 105 SPRING 108 IN THE WOOD no THE SPRING SKY 112 BY THE SEA 113 I WEEP 114 I ASKED THE STARS 1 16 A RAY 118 A TEAR AND A SMILE 120 A SPRING NIGHT'S DREAM 122 To You 125 A DREAM 126 THE LAST MELODY 127 To 129 CONTENTS A TREASURE 130 IN A DREAM 131 CHILDREN 132 CHILDREN AND FLOWERS 133 WHEN I DIE 134 I WILL NOT CHANGE 135 I SING LIKE A BIRD IN THE SKY 136 A DEAD BIRD 138 SONGS AND TEARS 140 BETRAYED 141 A PLEDGE 142 Two SORROWS 143 My HEART 144 Two FATES 145 MYSELF 146 MY IDEAL 148 To A RICH FRIEND 149 To MY RICH BROTHER 151 HARP AND SWORD 154 A SONG 155 THE FEAST OF SPRING 156 THE SEDER 161 THE FEAST OF WEEKS 165 HANUKKAH LIGHTS 169 THE MIRACLE 172 A PRAYER 175 MY FAITH 178 A NEW SONG.. 181 CONTENTS MY TENANT 182 DREAMS OF YOUTH 183 PROMETHEUS 186 THE LINNET 188 To MY NEAREST FRIEND 189 LIFE 191 A PROCESSION 193 UNDAUNTED 196 To A CRITIC 198 Two BIRDS 200' TO-MORROW 201 AUTUMN : 202 MY STAR 206 ALONE IN THE DESERT 207 To LIFE 208 MY EPITAPH 210 THE FOUNTAIN OF LOVE 211 AND SHOULDST THOU WISH TO KNOW 212 AN EVENING PRAYER 216 THE JEWISH SOLDIER 217 Two THRONES 220 SPRING AND AUTUMN 223 MY KATE 225 Two MAGICIANS 226 To MY .LOVE 229 THE LIM:E-TREE 231 MY FATE 233 Cfce Autumn pvRIPPING, drizzling autumn rain, Beating on my window-pane, From my window on the ground How monotonous a sound ! Drip-drip-drip and drop-drop-drop, Long, long hours without a stop ; Dripping, drizzling, beating fast, Telling stories of my past, Bringing memories again, Cold and dismal as the rain, Cold and dismal as the truth Of my childhood, of my youth, That arrived and passed away Like a drizzling autumn day. Drip-drip-drip and drop-drop-drop, All day long without a stop ! SONGS OF A WANDERER Drizzle, drip, and tell me more What my future has in store. Tell, I pray you, like a friend, Will my autumn ever end ? What ! foretell you exile, pain ! Nothing new, O foolish rain ! Exile is my people's nurse, From our cradle to our hearse. Drip-drip-drip and drop-drop-drop, All day long without a stop. Can you tell no other thing ? Better stop, so I may sing, Sing the life-song of a Jew I can sadlier sing than you. THE JEWISH CHILD 13 C&e Jetoi0j) CirilD T_J E is a child, and yet he is Much older than his years ; He laughs, but in his laugh is oft More sadness than in tears. He frisks and sports, but 'mid his pranks He stares ; and in his face You read, as in an open book, The drama of his race. And in his deep, dark, sparkling eyes You see his people's doom : They mirror both bright eastern skies And northern mist and gloom. He plays, he capers like a child, But oft it seems to you That in a moment he will grow An old, a wandering Jew. i 4 SONGS OF A WANDERER He frolics, but his very glee With pathos is entwined ; He's child and man, he's young and old, He's joy and gloom combined. MY SONG C HE stood before me gay and youthful, With radiant face and pleading eyes : " O sing me, friend, a song of freedom, Of love, and youth, and cloudless skies." child, I'd sing of love and freedom, But know not how that song to start : The world my stepmother in childhood Of childhood's joy deprived my heart. Not with a song my mother cradled And lulled her darling boy to sleep :, The mothers of my hapless people, They seldom sing and often weep. ^ 1 craved for freedom in my childhood : The field in spring was sweet and good ; But Jewish boys must learn the Torah, And caper not in field or wood. 16 SONGS OF A WANDERER My youthless youth passed in the ghetto, Where joy and mirth are sought in vain ; I wandered through the world a stranger, A friendless and a homeless Cain. \ O ask not for a song of freedom, A song that gladdens and that cheers : The world my stepmother has taught me One only song, the song of tears. MY BIRTHPLACE 17 VTOT in frolic, joy, and freedom, Is, O friend, my childhood gone ; In the place my mother bore me Sun of freedom never shone. There, my friend, where every life-beam Is in clouds of death concealed, Where Cain's curse : " Forever wander," On each human brow is sealed. Where men come and go like shadows, Pray, and fast, and toil, and slave, Life on earth devoutly crushing For a dream beyond the grave. Where, of earthly life despairing, Men in vain to heaven look ; Where man's heart and soul are buried In the pages of a book. 1 8 SONGS OF A WANDERER Where man's thought forever hovers In a lifeless space of gloom ; Where the brightest youth is youthless, Fairest plants fade ere they bloom. In the ghetto, friend, the ghetto, Where all hopes at birth decay, There my mother bore and nursed me, There my childhood passed away. A GHETTO MELODY 19 (After the Yiddish) IF only the trees could have learned my language, To them I would tell my sad tale ; And willow, and chestnut, and oak in the forest My fate would bewail. If only the blades with .my speech were acquainted, To them I my pain would reveal : The pain of an errant, the pain of a vagrant, That no one can heal. If only the roses my tongue could have mastered, My tears they would drink 'stead of dew : The tears of a child of the fields and the flowers With grief of a Jew. SONGS OF A WANDERER For I, a descendant of that ancient people Who gods to the world has supplied, Alas, had no God left to me who could listen, When pining I cried. If only the roses, the blades, and the breezes Could feel the sad note of my song, The rose would be trembling, the breeze would be moaning, Like me all day long ! DISILLUSION Disillusion I TOO, have built enchanted towers And phantom castles in the air, I, too, have dreamt of fragrant flowers That ever sweet remain and fair. I, too, believed in treasures hidden In love and youth that never fade ; But in the flowered groves of Eden How short a time, O friend, I stayed ! Long ere I climbed youth's magic steeple, I knew life's sorrows, tears, and pains ; I saw a great and ancient people That freed the world in servile chains. I saw it racked, and cursed, and banished For teaching mankind love and truth, And one by one my sweet dreams vanished Together with my youthless youth. SONGS OF A WANDERER And in the sound of fetters' rattle And in the groans of slaves meseems I hear a voice : " In life's fierce battle, O child, there is no room for dreams." THE INTRUDER 23 C&e SntruDer S~\ NCE in my secluded chamber, Late at night, I read Israel's ancient, wondrous story; How he shone, and shed Light around him, in his homeland Thriving free and great. Then my thoughts passed slowly onward To his present fate. Israel, homeless, footsore, captive, Into exile goes, And the world has long forgotten What to him it owes. " Gentile world ! you have polluted Springs from which you drank." In such sad recriminations, On my couch I sank. 24 SONGS OF A WANDERER Stealthily an old man entered My secluded room ; On his breast a cross suspended, In his eyes deep gloom. " You accused me, and I answer : Yours, not mine, the blame For your exile, for your downfall, For your grief and shame. Not I, no, but you polluted Your eternal spring ; Home and faith and pride abandoned, And to exile cling. 'Tis you who at alien altars Kneel to alien gods ; You who, as in cast-off garments, Deal in cast-off thoughts ; THE INTRUDER 25 Gather crumbs from strangers' tables, Colder crumbs than stone ; And you glory that you have no Table of your own. Faith and truth and pride all treasures You did prize of old ; For a lentil-mess your birthright Long ago you sold. You no longer feel the horror Of a slave's disgrace; Do you ask me to respect you, Honor such a race? You of old had heroes, prophets, Noble, great, and true ; How much of their daring spirit Is there left in you ? 26 SONGS OF A WANDERER Maccabeans as your forebears In your boast you claim ; If they knew their grandsons, they would Die again of shame ! Dead is all your pride and valor, Dead your sacred tongue ; Speech of bards and kings and prophets To oblivion flung. And your home that waits deserted Do you e'er recall ? Where are all your rich and mighty, Mammon's high priests all? Like deserters they are sailing Under foreign flags Lackeys, who their masters' mantles Wear to hide their rags. THE INTRUDER 27 Crumbs of bread and beggars' lodging Dare no more expect ! No, a race that loses honor No one can respect ! Now good-by, and cease to blame me For your shame and yoke." " Stay ! " I shrieked, " I wish to answer ! Stay ! " and I awoke. SONGS OF A WANDERER Cfje YA7 ITH my wanderer's staff in hand, Thus I tramp from land to land, Nowhere rinding home and rest For my wounded, weary breast, Ever hearing all day long Ev'ry where the same old song: Round the earth, and to and fro, Ever go ! Go, no clime must you allure, Go, you are too rich, too poor, Go, you are too weak, too strong, Go along! Brother dear, oh, dost thou know Where to go ? Go from North for life's sake go ; Go from West for our sake go ; THE WANDERER 29 Go from here you seem too pale ; Go from there you look too frail ; Go, you are too weak, too bold, Go, you are too young, too old, Go too simple, go too clever, Go forever! Here a peril, there a danger, Ev'rywhere a stranger, stranger, Ev'rywhere, all men among Go along ! Brother dear, oh, dost thou know Where to go ? Friends who feel my pain and shame Bid me back to whence I came, To the clime that drove me least, Bid me seek the East, the East. There, they say, I'll refuge find, There, they say, the skies are kind, 3 30 SONGS OF A WANDERER There I'll rest my weary head, Plough my field, and eat my bread. There I'll rest and there I'll toil, Sow the seed, and love the soil ; Where my fathers lived and died, There my new life should be tried. But my elder brothers say : All the world I would betray ! Go to East oh, what a whim ! All the earth I would bedim. And they urge me, and they say : " Stay away ! " Brother dear, oh, dost thou know- Where to go ? YOU COMFORT ME 31 V^OU comfort me that I am living, While mighty nations were effaced ; But tell me, dearest, which is nobler, A freeman's death or life disgraced? Two brothers lived ; one killed the other ; Rest in the grave found he who died ; But I, like Cain, am doomed to wander, Abel's repose I am denied. " Forever live," I hear an echo, " Removed from earth, remote from sky ; And strange alike to man and angel, You dare not live, you shall not die ! " 32 SONGS OF A WANDERER Spmsictan '"THE hall was bright, the guests were gay, In festal garb arrayed ; Unheeded by the piano sat A gloomy, dark-eyed maid. It seemed as though the piano smiled, With dazzling milk-white teeth ; The maiden touched it, and it wept Her fingers swift beneath. And straight a sudden thrill of grief Passed through the feasting throng, And old and young were bowed before The pathos of her song. I knew the player, knew her race, Her birthplace and belief ; I knew the music of her soul, Her wordless song of grief A GHETTO MUSICIAN 33 The soul that treasured in its depths The drama of a race ; The song a distant ghetto nursed, Her dismal native place. Of vanished hopes, of buried dreams, Complained 1 her sad, sweet song ; What brought I mused this child of grief To this gay, feasting throng ? No answer came ; a spellbound crowd Stood motionless around ; Eyes dimmed with tears, hearts beating fast, Still sought each magic sound. 34 SONGS OF A WANDERER (After Frug) '"pHE silver moon shines, and the diamond stars twinkle, Night hovers o'er land and o'er main ; The Book of Creation before me lies open I read it again and again. I read and re-read the old, marvelous stories A voice I hear calling to me : " My people shall be as the stars in the heaven, As sand on the shore of the sea ! " O heavenly Father, not one of Thy sayings Has ever proved vain or untrue : Thy will on the earth, as Thy will in the heaven, Must come when its season is due. SAND AND STARS 35 And half of Thy promise indeed is accomplished : Thy people became as the sand As gloomy and trampled, as humble and wind- tossed, As scattered on sea and on land. Yea, half of Thy promise has long been accom plished Thy people is trodden as sod ; But what of the beauteous, the lofty, the shining, The heavenly stars, O my God ? 36 SONGS OF A WANDERER C LEEP, my boy, the night is treading On its tiptoes still : Gold the twinkling stars are shedding Over vale and hill. Golden stars the sky be jewel, And they spark and glow ; Sleep before you know how cruel Is our life below. Sleep, my boy, the moon is swimming In a silver stream ; Dozing lakes with crystal brimming Dream a golden dream. Gold and silver we may borrow From the skies o'erhead ; Care awakens with the morrow, Care for daily bread. A GHETTO CRADLE-SONG 37 Sleep, my boy, the birds are trilling From each tree and nest : " Night is sacred, night is filling Wood and vale with rest." Leaf and blade by breezes shaken Softly whisper bliss ; Sleep, my boy, before you waken Calm on earth to miss. Sleep, my boy, and dream of heaven, Dream of joy and mirth ; Heaven's dreams to us are given To forget the earth. Sleep, my boy, for clouds may gather Heaven's charm to mar; Up in heaven is your father Shining as a star. 33 SONGS OF A WANDERER Sleep, my boy, the angels mind you In your tiny bed ; Earth is wide, but who will find you Room to rest your head? Sleep, the night is softly treading, Kindling lakes and streams ; Gold the twinkling stars are shedding, Gold in dreams, in dreams. THE WANDERING JEW 39 Cfje f~^ OME hail, and gale, and thunder- v^> My goal I shall pursue ; My path I tread asunder The world's reproach and wonder The ever-wandering Jew. For false is that vile story That I conspire to die : My goal is life and glory, My aim since ages hoary To life from death to fly. And though my saviour dally To end my grief and woe, Through desert, hill, and valley, Through sordid ghetto alley, On, ever on, I go. 40 SONGS OF A WANDERER For like a searching ranger I learned the earth to roam ; I heed no ill, no danger, Am everywhere a stranger, Yet everywhere at home. Though nations may abhor me, Though hate and scorn I find, A guiding star shines o'er me, A glorious goal before me, A martyr's path behind. The scoffer's scorn and laughter Shall never bar my way ; My faith, my strongest rafter, Foretells a golden " after," A great and glorious day. No night my soul can frighten, No cloud-beshrouded skies ; THE WANDERING JEW 41 My robe of faith I tighten, And wait till day shall brighten, The sun of love shall rise. May king or kingdom-monger Believe in might and sword, But I, with faith yet stronger, Shall trust, though suffer longer, In God's eternal word. With faith, my wealth and chattel, I fear no warrior's fate ; Around the swords may rattle, But I shall leave the battle Triumphant, free, and great. Of heroes old a scion, With God in field I camp ; He wakens Judah's lion, To light once more in Zion A world-illuming lamp. 42 SONGS OF A WANDERER (Eternal T SRAEL, my people, God's greatest riddle, Will thy solution Ever be told ? Fought never conquered, Bent never broken, Mortal immortal, Youthful, though old. Egypt enslaved thee, Babylon crushed thee, Rome led thee captive, Homeless thy head. Where are those nations Mighty and fearsome ? Thou hast survived them, They are long dead. THE ETERNAL RIDDLE 43 Nations keep coming, Nations keep going, Passing like shadows, Wiped off the earth. Thou an eternal Witness remainest, Watching their burial, Watching their birth. Pray, who revealed thee Heaven's great secret : Death and destruction Thus to defy? Suffering torture, Stake, inquisition Prithee, who taught thee Never to die? 44 SONGS OF A WANDERER Ay, and who gave thee Faith, deep as ocean, Strong as the rock-hills, Fierce as the sun ? Hated and hunted, Ever thou wand'rest, Bearing a message: God is but one ! Pray, has thy saga Likewise an ending, As its beginning Glorious of old? Israel, my people, God's greatest riddle, Will thy solution Ever be told ? ISAIAH'S VISION 45 ; Vision HpHREE thousand years ago, The Hebrew prophet's soul Through countless ages saw The far-off human goal. When life was base and vile, And chained was human thought, He to a heathen world A godly message brought. " A time will come when man," Proclaimed the noble seer, " To plough shall turn his sword, To pruning-hook his spear, His field of fire and blood, To field of golden corn ; In human heart new love, New glory shall be born. 4 46 SONGS OF A WANDERER All nations unto peace Shall give their mind and heart, And lift no sword, nor learn The warrior's godless art." Three thousand years have passed ; And though the prophet's dream As yet is unattained, And force still reigns supreme, The prophet's people prove To men the human goal : That mightier than the sword Is heart, and mind, and soul ; That mightier than the sword Is God's eternal word ; The prophet's people live In spite of fire and sword. THE LOTUS PLANT 47 Cfje Lotus plant /^\F the lotus plant a story Comes to us from ancient time ; Those who tasted of its flower Soon forgot their native clime. In the East there is a country, Where my people's star once shone ; Since it set in utter blackness, Centuries have come and gone ; But I cannot yet forget it, Though I roam the earth around, For that precious lotus flower I have nowhere, nowhere found ; And my people's ancient country Ever looms before my eyes, With its hills and plains and gardens, With its deep and sapphire skies ; 48 SONGS OF A WANDERER With its lily-spangled valleys, Groves of cedar, palm, and vine, With its sacred sites, where erstwhile Trod the fathers of our line. Ev'ry sunbeam, bird, or flower To my vision ever brings Hills and valleys that have cradled Heroes, prophets, bards, and kings. But a lorn, sequestered stranger, Lo, I wander through the West, Ever dreaming, ever longing, Never finding peace or rest. Of my kindred I make question, While from land to land I roam: " You that tasted of the lotus, And in exile made your home, THE LOTUS PLANT 49 Can you tell me, happy people, Can you tell me in what part Grows that blessed magic flower That shall heal my pining heart ? " But they gaze at me in wonder, Shake their heads and turn away ; And they mock me as a dreamer, And I plod my lonely way. In what Gilead their balm grew They keep hidden from my quest ; So I pine, pine for my homeland, With no plant to give me rest. SONGS OF A WANDERER Co tfte '"PHE skylarks sing to me A song of mirth and glee, I feel their airy gladness, They soar so high and free. O singers in the sky, If but to you could I Pour out my inner sadness, would not sing, but cry. MY PEOPLE'S WOES 51 People'* MJoes; T F my voice in singing trembles, If my song a sigh resembles, Far too sad appears, Do not, friend, with blame approach me, Do not, friend, in haste reproach me, When I sing through tears. For my song its sadness borrows From my people's woes and sorrows, Boundless as the sea; Early I became acquainted With a life that fate had painted All too black for me. Friend, to witness I was fated How its triumph celebrated Darkness over light ; How man's greed, and lust, and blindness, Scoffed at virtue, grace, and kindness, Crushing right by might. S 2 SONGS OF A WANDERER Friend, I saw that people driven That to mankind once had given Truth and light on earth ; Saw it hunted, shamed, and banished, Saw its faith in mankind vanished 'Mid a mob's wild mirth. Friend, Gehenna's blaze and fuel I beheld, when mad and cruel Baal his victims claimed : Maidens shamed and broken-hearted, Mothers from their children parted, Infants rent and maimed. And the curses that were uttered, And the prayers that were muttered To avert the wrong, Sobs, and groans, and sighs heaved vainly, Now perforce re-echo plainly In my dismal song. MY PEOPLE'S WOES 53 And if thus my voice is trembling, And my song, a sigh resembling, Like a tear-stream flows, Dearest friend, you must forgive me : Tis not I that cry, believe me 'Tis my people's woes. 54 SONGS OF A WANDERER I^our COR the land of Red Tsars and Black Hundreds, Where the far-off Siberian plains Hide the graves of the martyrs for justice, Telling tales of queen Freedom in chains ; For the land of Red Tsars and Black Hundreds, For the " holy " unholiest clime, Where the traffic in vice is rewarded, And belief in one God is a crime ; For the land of Red Tsars and Black Hundreds, Where the knife and the knout are untamed, Where my brothers are ages-long tortured, And my sisters are branded and shamed ; For the land of Red Tsars and Black Hundreds, An echo approaches my ears, Proclaiming the hour of God's vengeance For our innocent blood and our tears ! TO ENGLAND 55 Co HTHOU art not my stepmother, England, My sister of mercy thou art, Who healed with a balsam of freedom The sore of a wanderer's heart. I had not a motherland, England ; The land that had given me birth Denied to my sorely-tried people A haven of rest on God's earth. In childhood I learned to love thee, Thy name was a legend to me ; I dreamt of a distant great island, Where men may be strong, yet be free. And I, who the clatter of fetters Have heard in my childhood and youth, Do bless thee for giving me refuge And faith in the triumph of truth. 5 6 SONGS OF A WANDERER Thou are not my stepmother, England, My sister of mercy thou art ; For thee in the hour of thy trial A brotherly love fills my heart. THE LAST 57 Cf)e (After the Hebrew) *~pHIS the key of Thy Temple's gates Into my hands Thou gavest, saying : " I make thee watchman o'er my House, A watchman, and a master too ; And thou shalt watch my holy House, And open wide its gates To those who knock at them, With yearning heart." And I I faithfully kept watch, And day and night did wait For parched men to come And drink the water of Thy blessed spring. The key with rust is covered in my hand. I heard a murmur and a noise around, But none inquired for the House of God. 58 SONGS OF A WANDERER Alone Thy gates I opened, Alone I stood and prayed, And to myself I said : Tis time to close. And, growing old, and grey, and frail, I breathed my last prayer, And in the dusty curtain of the ark I lapped my head and wept aloud, For great was my disgrace. And when Thy House, O God, I left, I saw the last dark shadows creep And follow in my steps. THE STRANGER IN LONDON 59 CJje Stranger in LonDon J_J IS forehead is wrinkled, His eyes, sad and deep, Those eyes that tell mutely How often they weep ; And tall is his stature, And pale is his face ; I know without asking His faith and his race. He passes my window, His voice I know well Sweet oranges, apples He offers to sell. The urchins torment him, When he is alone, At times with their mocking, At times with a stone. 60 SONGS OF A WANDERER He eyes them in silence ; And as they disperse, I see his lips mutter A prayer, or a curse. One day I endeavored His gloom to dispel, I cheered him, and begged him His life-tale to tell. His sad tale he told me In words all too few, The tale of a martyr, The tale of a Jew. His stepmother country Deprived him of home, And made him a vagrant, The wide world to roam. THE STRANGER IN LONDON 61 And helpless, and friendless, And speechless, and weak, He came to this island A refuge to seek. In solitude living, Uncared for, unknown, He prays that the urchins May leave him alone. 62 SONGS OF A WANDERER C&e OU bid me to bury my sorrows, And cease o'er my burdens to rave ; But where shall I find on this planet As vast as my sorrows a grave ? THE STRANGER 63 Cfte %>tranget , child, your wicket, Let me in, I pray ; Tired am I from wand'ring, Long is still my way. What my name is, ask you ? Why reveal my shame ? On my long, long journey I forgot my name. Wonder you I come by This unbeaten track ? Storm, by chance, has brought me, Storm will take me back. And the land I come from? O, in ev'ry part You will find the traces Of my wounded heart. 64 SONGS OF A WANDERER Why without a torchlight In a night so dark ? Tempests in the desert Quenched it, spark by spark. Have I any friends here ? Many a one and none ; None, when I am with them, Many, when I'm gone. And the land I go to ? That would mean a goal ; There's no land nor people Stays my restless soul. Everywhere a native, Everywhere a guest ; All I pray and crave for Is a moment's rest. D AV ID'S HARP 65 Datu'D'0 Ijmrp (Dedicated to my dear friend Dr. Charles Weitzmann) A harp hung above David's bed, and every midnight a north wind breathed upon it, and its strings played of themselves. Tractate Berakot. A S the silver moon, while climbing In a summer night the crystal Walls of heaven through the cloudland, Casts its mellow, dreamy moonbeams On the paths and roads deserted, On the temples and the castles, Dreaming like enchanted giants By the watching ghost-like shadows ; Thus in memory arising Sometimes through life's sombre cloudland Images long, long forgotten, Charming sagas, ancient legends, Stories quaint I heard in childhood From my Rabbi in my Cheder, 66 SONGS OF A WANDERER Cast their tender light, illuming The deserted, gloomy chambers Of my grief-encompassed heart. In the chamber of king David, Of Jerusalem's great ruler, Hangs an old, a golden harp. Night by night, at the hour of midnight, When all mortals rest in slumber, And all angels hymns are chanting, Blows a north breeze, softly touching With its breath the strings the golden, And the harp, as though by magic, Of itself begins to play. Soon the king those sounds awaken ; Swiftly from his couch he rises, Through the night, until the sunrise, Chants his wondrous psalms and hymns. And those songs possess a power, A great, hidden, sacred power, Which reverberates their echo DAVID'S HARP 67 In each human heart and soul, And they pierce the hearts of mortals, Drawing from the depths of feeling All the pearls and all the corals Of emotion and of thought. Midnight peals. Unearthly music Fills the chamber of king David, Melodies in which the singer Hears the voice of God and nature, Sometimes speaking through the breezes, Sometimes through the howling tempest ; Sometimes like a streamlet flowing, Sometimes raging like the sea. Oft a mighty voice arises, Like a fiery thunder rolling O'er the wide Arabian desert ; Like the wild Simoon, unfettered, Yelling in its angry effort To uproot the hoary cedars Of king Lebanon the snow-crowned. 68 SONGS OF A WANDERER Like the Red Sea's heaving bosom, Tossed and tumbled by the tempest, Vale-like sinking, mount-like rising, As it foams, and yawns, and threatens To engulf the rocks above it. Then the poet's psalms re-echo Voices angry as the tempest : " He layeth the beams of His chambers In the waters, He walketh upon the wings Of the wind ; At the voice of Thy thunder they haste away ; They go up like mountains, They go down like valleys." Yea, the roaring waves and thunder Then his songs reverberate. Oft a melody starts flowing, Soft and calm like the Shiloah, Gently rolling lucent billows To the velvet shore, caressing, DAVID'S HARP 69 Wooing tenderly the willows ; Like the ripple of the far-off Murmuring fountains of En-gedi ; Like the whisper of the young ears In the cornfields of Beth-lehem, When the spring breeze lulls to rest. Then the singer's strain re-echoes Nature's voices sweet and tender : " He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters." And the music of the harp-strings And the words, sublime and charming, Fuse into one wondrous hymn. Oft a melody upsurges Full of immemorial sorrow, Like the speechless supplication Of a lone, forsaken soul ; Of a soul that gropes in darkness, Seeing no escape, no outlet From its melancholy fate ; 70 SONGS OF A WANDERER Like the sob of stricken parents, Watching hopelessly the death-bed Of their only darling child. Then the singer, gravely, sadly, Sings his melancholy song : " The pains of death encompass me, The woes of Sheol got hold upon me, I found but grief and woe." And the echo of his strain is Through the night a thrill of grief. Oft a melody awakens, Flowing like a sacred prayer, Like a love dream first unfolding In the pure heart of a maiden, Raising feelings and emotions, Yearnings, hopes till then unknown; Like a quaint, mysterious vision, Woven in a poet's fancy, Carrying him, as though by magic, D AV ID'S HARP 71 On the wings of inspiration, Into spheres from mortals hidden, Into spheres of boundless beauty, To a space of light and rapture, Charming vistas, wondrous views. There the singer hears a chorus Of angelic hosts in heaven, Chanting, glorifying, praising The Creator of the worlds ; And the singer joins the chorus, To the sound of magic harp-strings : " Praise Him, praise Him, all ye angels, Praise Him, all ye hosts of light, Praise Him, heavens of the heavens, Every soul shall praise the Lord." Nightly thus the harp is playing, Nightly thus the king is singing Songs of rest and songs of tempest, Of life's joys, and of life's burdens, Man's despair, his hopes and longings, 72 SONGS OF A WANDERER Songs of nature and of God All the deepest heart emotions, All most sacred aspirations Are re-echoed in his songs. Thus the twins by song begotten Speech of heart and sound of heaven Did present the world and mankind With the Psalter, Book of Life ; And the echo of that life book Ever hovers in the world-space Over hill, and dell, and desert ; In the prince's gorgeous palace, In the pauper's gloomy cottage, Every human heart it touches. It entrances and inspires, Fills with thoughts and yearnings great. Ages come and go. Like actors On the stage appearing, changing, On the earth the stage of mankind Countries, nations ever change. DAYID'S HARP 73 Ages come and go ; but one thing, One, alas ! remains forever Strife and struggle unabated, 'Twixt the races, creeds, and nations. Men have never yet discovered How between them (fateful secret!) Earth and heaven should be shared . . . Yet amid the wild confusion, And the chaos of man's conflicts, When God's reason sobers mankind Of its war intoxication, And a momentary truce is On the battlefield proclaimed Then in synagogues, cathedrals, And in churches, and in cloisters, And wherever man, inspired, Lifts his troubled soul in prayer, Magic sounds ascend the heavens, Songs that stream from sacred fountains In the human soul deep hidden, 74 SONGS OF A WANDERER And they ease life's heavy burdens, Bringing comfort, help, and peace. Listen to those words and music, Whosoever, friend, you may be, You will recognize these songs. Still king David's harp is chiming, Still its strings remain unbroken, Still unsilenced are its echoes, While the ages come and go ... Everlasting and eternal It is, like man's living spirit, Like the firmament above us, Like the people of the King. Israel, glorious are thy legends, And they are of thee a portion ; For thy legends still are living, And thy life a legend still. TWO ANGELS 75 Ctoo angels CVERY Friday, when the west Lures the golden sun to rest And the gloomy earth to cheer, Diamond stars in sky appear ; When queen Sabbath comes on earth, Bringing heaven's joy and mirth, Worry, toil, and gloom to end , Angels two from sky descend Angels two, one kind and bright, But the other, dark as night. And around the world they soar, Halting at each Jewish door. When their eyes lit candles meet, When bright faces Sabbath greet, When sweet songs and anthems fair Show that peace hath banished care, 76 SONGS OF A WANDERER Anger, and the daily grind, Then the angel mild and kind Utters blessings : " Like to-night Ever shall your life be bright ; Never, never, shall you miss Soul's contentment, deepest bliss." And his mate, with gloomy eyes, " Amen " to his words replies. But when they a household see Void of joy, of Sabbath glee, Not a candle, not a spark, Room and faces sad and dark, Work and strife and Satan's wiles, Then the evil angel smiles, And he hastes to speak his curse : " Ever go from bad to worse, Every day and all life through Peace shall be denied to you." And his mate, with tearful eyes, " Amen " says, and sadly cries. MESSIAH 77 (A talmudic legend) A ND Daniel begged the angel of the Lord : " O tell me, pray, of that salvation true Jehovah will unto His people bring, So that my soul may rest and tranquil be." And thus the angel spoke, and made reply : " On that great day Messiah, Judah's king, Shall lift his flag upon the Zion Hill, On that great day the Temple will be built, By Judah's foe no more to be destroyed. That day Messiah, God's anointed king, With him Elijah, Judah's prophet true, The holy Mount of Olives shall ascend, And king to prophet thus will give command : ' Arise, O Tishbite, sound thy clarion high ! ' And as the clarion peals shall wake the earth, A light more brilliant and more dazzling still 6 78 SONGS OF A WANDERER Than when Jehovah first created light Shall shine, and clothe the earth from end to end. That light shall heal and cheer the sick and grieved ; And when once more the trumpet's peals are heard, The dead shall wake, and, rising from their tombs, Shake off the clods that kept them cold and dumb. And friend shall cheer and glad the heart of friend, And mother shall embrace her child with joy, And from the east and west, and north and south, They, swiftly come as on an eagle's wings, Shall flock, and to Messiah wend their way. And thus the joyous message shall be spread : ' The day has come the Lord designed of yore ; Let all rejoice, let all be glad this day.' And when again the trumpet's sound is heard, The Lord, surrounded by His angel troops, In light and glory shall appear on earth. MESSIAH 79 And when once more the prophet's trumpet sounds, The hills and mounts shall sink, the valleys rise ; And where the Tabor once and Carmel Hill, And where the Olive Mount and Hermon stood, A flowery plain shall far and wide extend. And then the Lord His angels will command, To raise once more the Temple's golden gates The earth kept buried in its entrails vast, Since Judah's foe the holy fane destroyed." 8o SONGS OF A WANDERER Cfje Dean (Ballad) C ACH midnight, each midnight they march out in crowds, With bundles of faggots concealed in their shrouds, Their eyes like quenched embers, their faces like clouds They march to Madrid, and they stay ; And where Torquemado's cathedral once stood, The spot that is stained with their ashes and blood, They open their shrouds, and drop bundles of wood, And kindle an auto-da-fe. A gray-bearded sage in a turban and shawl, Of princely demeanor, and stately, and tall, Then beckons for silence, and speaks to them all In tones that make tremble the sod : THE DEAD ASSEMBLY 81 " This flame shall bear witness to aged and youth, That men who taught mankind God's mercy and truth Were cast into flames for proclaiming His truth, And burnt for the name of their God. And night after night shall be kindled this flame, And glare on the land as a brand-mark of shame. Forever the land of inquisitors' fame To men as a curse shall go down ; Forever the blood of the martyrs shall stain The highways and byways and pavements of Spain : We swear that our children shall never again Return to the blood-spotted town." Then each of the martyrs holds down his right hand, And lifts from the fire-heap a smouldering brand, And mutters an oath and a curse on the land, And slowly moves backward away. 82 SONGS OF A WANDERER Thrice " Amen " calls out the retreating dead crowd, Thrice " Amen " re-echo the mountains aloud, And over Madrid spreads a thickening cloud, And stays till the dawn of the day. SATAN AND HAM AN 83 an ft Daman (After the Talmud) "VAT" HEN the Persian Haman Thrilled and throbbed with joy, At the gladsome prospect Israel to destroy ; Satan, likewise joyful, Brought to God the news, Bade Him sign the verdict To destroy the Jews. The Almighty answered : " Thy request is good, But my seal, ere signing, Must be dipped in blood. 84 SONGS OF A WANDERER Bring some human blood, then, Shed by Jewish hands." Forthwith sped old Satan Over seas and lands, Searching every highway, Every cave and wood ; But, alas, he could not Find such human blood. Then, to God returning, He brought back the tale: " Cowards are Thy people, And of heart too frail." THE AGGADA 85 Cfje XA/'HENE'ER w ith woes My heart o'erflows, Yet will no hope surrender, From pain and grief I seek relief In tales of ancient splendor. And then I scan The talisman Engraved by Israel's sages, The tales of old The Rabbis told In far-off, wondrous ages. 86 SONGS OF A WANDERER My pain is stilled, My heart is filled With joyous, deep emotion ; I sail in glee The boundless sea, The great talmudic ocean. And life does seem A wondrous dream, Through paths of mystery winding; How I rejoice To hear the voice Of childhood's days reminding! I sail, I swim Through streams that brim With silver-gliding waters. On beach and shore I meet once more Fair Judah's sons and daughters. THE AGGADA 87 And ev'rywhere Resounds the air With sweet old Zion's ditties, And far and wide On ev'ry side Arise old Judah's cities. And as of yore I see once more The land of milk and honey ; The landscapes quaint That once did paint The Rabbi Bar-Bar-Choney. With him I ride, Through countries wide, To phantom realms and peoples ; My oarless boat O'er seas does float, I climb on magic steeples. 88 SONGS OF A WANDERER On elfin wings I visit kings, And rest in beauteous Eden ; In Ophir's fields, Where David's shields And treasures rare are hidden. O Talmud great, Thou dost relate The tale of silent ages ; But canst thou tell Who gave such spell To thy unfading pages ? THE RABBI AND THE PRINCESS 89 Cf)e Hafefci ana t&e princess (From the Talmud) ' ' D ABB I," said a heathen princess, To a Hebrew chief, " You, a man so wise, how can you Follow your belief, Since your God, the great Jehovah, Acted like a thief? For He cast a sleep on Adam, And, without his leave, Took a rib from out his body, Made the woman Eve. Rabbi, in such wise act only Robbers, I believe." 9 o SONGS OF A WANDERER " Princess," said the Rabbi, " if you Wish to judge aright, Just permit me now to tell you What occurred one night, When a man my chamber entered, Hid from people's sight. In my isolated cottage, On the barren wold, I possessed a lamp of copper, Tarnished, bent, and old. And he stole it. But instead he Left a lamp of gold. Tell me, was this man a robber, Can he thus be named ? " " No ! he was your benefactor ! " She, surprised, exclaimed ; Then, the Rabbi's smile beholding, Turned and blushed, half-shamed. KINDLING THE SABBATH LIGHT 91 tf)e alrtatd Ligftt CROM memory's spring flows a vision to-night : My mother is kindling and blessing the light. The light of queen Sabbath, the heavenly flame That one day in seven quells hunger and shame. A stream in the desert, 'mid thistles a rose, Is Sabbath 'mid week-days, the queen of repose. She comes with a torch to expel daily gloom, And kindles the soul of her lover and groom. My mother is praying, and screening her face, Too bashful to gaze at the Sabbath light's grace. She murmurs devoutly : " Almighty, be blessed For sending Thy angel of joy and of rest. And may as the candles of Sabbath divine The eyes of my son in Thy Law ever shine." . . . 92 SONGS OF A WANDERER Of childhood, fair childhood, the years are long fled: Youth's candles are quenched, and my mother is dead. And yet ev'ry Friday, when twilight arrives, The face of my mother within me revives ; A prayer on her lips : " O Almighty, be blessed For sending us Sabbath, the angel of rest." And some hidden feeling I cannot control A Sabbath light kindles deep, deep in my soul. THE IMPRISONED PRINCESS 93 SmprisotteD princess Under foreign skies forgotten,- One I still recall. On an island stands a tower Barred with iron gates ; There a princess, long imprisoned, For her lover waits, Gazing from her prison window Through the iron bars, Day by day the sun beseeching, Night by night, the stars : 7 94 SONGS OF A WANDERER " Is my lover's heart still faithful, Loving as before? Will he ever come, release me, As in youth he swore? Come in knightly shield and armor, Come to set me free, That we both may flee together Far o'er land and sea ; Flee, until a wondrous island Will our sight allure, Where the brooks are pure as crystal, And man's heart as pure ; In the lap of mother nature There to love and live, All our woes forget in rapture, All our foes forgive ? " THE IMPRISONED PRINCESS 95 Mother, I that tale remember, Childhood's saddest tale ; And, meseems, I know the princess, See her sad and pale, As she daily at the casement Of her cell appears ; Feel her sorrows, grief, and anguish, See her eyes in tears. And myself her pain and anguish Often I share, too ; And I, too, believe her vision Will one day come true. Come he will, her true redeemer, Break her prison gate: But I fear, I fear, O mother, He may be too late ! g6 SONGS OF A WANDERER A CRADLE-SONG my mother sang, So deep, so sweet, so sad it rang. Of mother 1 am long bereft, But why is still her sadness left, To live in every song of mine, In ev'ry line? O mother dear, Where did you hear That air that taught your darling lad A song so sad ? And where have I the sadness found ? In mother's voice, or word, or sound, Or in her melancholy mood, Or in her pearly tear that stood In her eye, trembling ere it fell? I cannot tell ! MY MOTHER'S SONG 97 The song I never understood, And strange to me was mother's mood ; The words I have forgotten long, ic voice is silent, like the song. , ie eye is closed; the tear is dry ; The sadness cannot die. And in my happiest moods and dreams I ever hear that song meseems ; And when I muse of love and bliss, I never miss That lullaby of sadness deep And I must weep. 98 SONGS OF A WANDERER C&e Dpittff Poet (After the Yiddish) \A^HITE the robe, and white the " sister," Bed and linen likewise white ; On his bed lies pale the singer, In his eyes dies out the light. White the face, and white the pillow, But his lips and eyes are dark ; By his bed I stand in anguish, See the last expiring spark. " Comrade, see, I bring you flowers, Tokens of the world's esteem ; Tell me, comrade, what you wish for, And of what it is you dream." THE DYING POET 99 But he looks, with eyes imploring, Murmurs something hard to hear ; Smiling gloomily and faintly, Beckons, whispers in my ear : " All is over. . . . Drama ended . . . Far too early came the end. . . . Have you, brother, yet looked over, My new poem in The Friend? ' Life and Youth ' you must have read it ... There two syllables are wrong . . . Tis not my fault . . . Tis a misprint . . . They have spoiled that charming song. . . . ' Life and Youth,' my latest poem, Written but a week ago ; Just two syllables are missing, Brother, let the people know. . . . Tell them, pray, it is an error . . . Just an error ..." " Dearest friend ! SONGS OF A WANDERER Your last wish shall be respected, I your honor must defend. 'Gainst your ' Life and Youth,' misprinted, None shall breathe a word of blame. That the world may not misjudge you, This I solemnly proclaim : In the Jewish ' Life and Youth ' song, Sung amidst our cruel strife, Just two syllables are missing : One is youth and one is life! " THE FIRST SNOW C&e JFirst CAIRY-LIKE on earth advancing, All transforming, all entrancing, Playing on their way and dancing, Soil-untarnished yet, Silver stars from sky are dropping, Little fairies skipping, hopping, On the roofs and turrets popping, Crowns with diamonds set. Greeting nature's silver wedding, Argent splendor they are shedding, And a bridal veil outspreading, Like a silver net ; Till town-alleys, foul and tainted, Turn cathedral-aisles ensainted, Carved with gorgeous, ermine-painted, Ornamental fret. SONGS OF A WANDERER How all changed by elfin power ! Every house a magic tower, Every tree with lilac-flower Lures like a coquette. Following in their magic traces, Hidden joy each heart embraces, Sparkling eyes and brightened faces Everywhere are met. How I love you, white-robed city. Maiden-pure, and maiden-pretty ! But my love is what a pity ! Tempered with regret. Truer lover you would find me, I f you were not to remind me Of a cold land left behind me That I'd fain forget. BY NIGHT 103 '"PHE night is fair, the night is still. God's spirit soars o'er vale and hill ; I dream again fair childhood's dreams ; The world a temple is, meseems, The beaming silver moon in sky Its lamp eternal is on high ; And far behind the dots that spark There lies concealed a holy ark, O'er which the sky its curtain blue Is set with stars with diamonds true ; Around on earth, where'er I look, I see an open, sacred book, Whose every page each hill and vale Relates a hidden, sacred tale. The night is still, and on my way I hear a congregation pray 104 SONGS OF A WANDERER The crooning streams, the lilting rills, The solemn woods, the musing hills. Each stalk and blade, each rush and plant, Their sacred hymns to heaven chant. Each tender flower, full of grace, In fragrant tones sings heaven's praise. O'er field and mead the breeze goes round, And carries blessings in its sound. In wood and valley, everywhere, The sacred music fills the air ; The trees, the birds, the waterfall, They join the chorus, each and all. On earth an echo hovers round, And calls : " This earth is holy ground, Which in His mercy He hath blessed." And when I heard the voice, I guessed That all the longings of my heart And I myself are but a part, Like ev'rything I hear and see, Of nature's temple, pure and free. "HOW FAIR . . ." 105 Jfm'r , * . * He who walks by the way, and says : " How fair is that tree or that field," is as if he had forfeited his soul. Ethics of the Fathers. VA/ ALKING by the way, when spring is Bright, and fresh, and mild, Say not : " O, how fair the garden Or the field is," child. All on earth is vain, remember, All has but one goal ; Saying : " O, how fair the garden," You forego your soul. Rabbi dear, your words are sacred This I can't conceal I say not : " How fair the garden," But I feel, I feel ! xo6 SONGS OF A WANDERER Feel the breeze that soothes, entrances, Like a golden dream ; Feel the flowers shedding perfume In a fragrant stream. Hear the rippling brooklet whisper, And its tongue I know ; Not a word ! but waves of feelings Sea-like ebb and flow. Feel the sky, a crystal ocean Hanging overhead ; Hear on stairs of light in azure Heaven's angels tread. And I feel my heart with rapture Filling to the brim ; In a wave of sounds and sunbeams I immerse and swim. "HOW FAIR . . ." 107 Then in the lap of mother nature Like a child I sink ; From her bosom pure, sweet nectar Thirstily I drink. Living wonders in the garden I see scattered round, But remain a silent witness, Utter not a sound. Rabbi dear, your words are sacred This I can't conceal I say not : " How fair the garden," But I feel, I feel. io8 SONGS OF A WANDERER /^OME with me to wood and field, Where God's wonders are revealed. Come and hear the skylark sing Pseans to the master spring, Who repaints the world anew, Earth in green and sky in blue. Come and see the wakened wood, That all winter gloomy stood, How the heaven's golden broom Sweeps away its wintry gloom. Come and stray the valleys through, Dressed in silk and washed in clew ; See the daisy-babes at birth Suck the breast of mother earth. SPRING 109 Come and see the drowsy streams, Kissed by heaven's smiling gleams, Wake, and gaily speed along, Babbling on their way a song. Come and see the field revived, And the shepherd that arrived Down the hill-slope with his sheep ; Hear his song so sweet and deep : " Spring comes only " pipes his fife " Once each year, yet once in life." SONGS OF A WANDERER 3n tbe J COME to thee, O woodland, From town and men to hide ; To birds, and trees, and flowers, My heart's woe to confide. They were my mates in childhood, We know each other well ; And oft I leave the city Among these friends to dwell. And they in turn cry : " Welcome ! " They greet me with a song : " The sky, and air, and sunshine, Alike to all belong " A truth men have forgotten, Or have to study yet ; Or, is it that they know it, And study to forget? IN THE WOOD They dole out air and sunshine By race, and creed, and birth ; They cannot share God's heaven, They cannot share man's earth. I come to thee, O woodland, In search of peace and rest ; The greedy town and people Begloom my weary breast. SONGS OF A WANDERER C&e T LOVE you, O spring sky, So pure and so mild, Your smiles and your tears are The moods of a child. Your smiles are so beamy, Your tears are so pearly ; I rise in the morning To look at you early ; And whether I find that You smile or you cry, I cannot but love you, O child-looking sky. BY THE SEA 113 /^ALM is the ocean at sunset, Calm is my heart, too, meseems ; And as the sun in the sea waves Mirrored in heart are youth's dreams. Maybe the waves have forgotten Tempest, and shipwreck, and blast ; But, ah, my heart, it forgets not All its wrecked dreams of the past. ii4 SONGS OF A WANDERER T WEEP for the morning, the fresh, breezy morning, So bracing, so sweet, and so bright ; I weep for the morning, the fair, sunny morning, That passed into night. I weep for the flowers, the sun-cherished flowers, With fragrance my garden they filled ; I weep for the flowers, the tender, sweet flowers, Cold autumn has killed. I weep for the dreams, and the hopes, and the longings, With rapture my heart they once filled ; I weep for the dreams, and the hopes, and the longings, Now faded and chilled. / WEEP 115 I weep for the heart that so deeply, so truly, Has loved, and of love known the pain ; I weep for the heart that could love and could suffer, And suffered in vain. n6 SONGS OF A WANDERER I ASKED the stars in heaven, One still and star-lit night : " Oh, wherefore, tell me, wherefore So pale and cold your light ? I know that you are light worlds, A globe each seeming spark ; Such hosts of you shine on us, Why is our earth so dark? I know that you are flame worlds, A sun each dot of gold ; Such hosts of you are burning, Why is our earth so cold ? " The stars, they did not answer We stood so far apart ; A voice replied beside me: " Inquire within your heart ! I ASKED THE STARS nf. Your heart, it, too, is star-like, A world that seems a spark ; It, too, sheds rays around it Why is your path so dark ? It, too, has skyey longings, And golden dreams untold ; It, too, is burning, burning, Why is your life so cold ? " In vain the poet's questions I heard within my breast; The heart and stars are riddles No mortal ever guessed. u8 SONGS OF A WANDERER a Hap N his cot my little boy Lay so pale and weak, And a golden ray of light Played upon his cheek. " Have you come down from the sky ? Tell me, golden ray, Just to kiss my darling boy, Take his pain away ? Have the guardian angels then Sent you from above, Just to cheer my ailing pet, Bring him heaven's love ? Or, perchance, you have been sent, Just to close his eye, And to take his angel soul Back into the sky ? " A RAY 119 Silent was the golden ray, Silent was I, too ; But my darling's pallid face Paler, paler grew. SONGS OF A WANDERER 3 Cear anD a %milt VAT" HEN in your eye I saw a tear, You seemed, I know not why, A child of purer, higher worlds, A daughter of the sky. I loved you, and I told you so ; But pardon me, my dear, I was misled I loved not you, I merely loved your tear. For in a while, when to a smile Your sparkling eyes gave birth, You stood a maid, like maidens all, A daughter of the earth. I felt at once the spell was gone, I changed in one short while ; The flame you kindled with your tear You quenched then with your smile. A TEAR AND A SMILE But still, sometimes I wonder why All chemistry to flout Your humid tear could light a flame Your glowing smile put out. SONGS OF A WANDERER Opting Jftig&f $ Dream HpHAT spring night through silver We saw the moon sail, The sky princess wearing A dream-woven veil. The sky princess wearing A dream- woven veil, She dreamily told us Love's wonderful tale. She dreamily told us Love's wonderful tale. How sweet was, O child, then Thy breath to inhale ! How sweet was, O child, then Thy breath to inhale, Like nectar of lilies That grew down the vale. A SPRING NIGHTS DREAM 123 Like nectar of lilies That grew down the vale, The lilies and lovers Who'll dare to assail ? " The lilies and lovers Who'll dare to assail ? " Thus sang us each mountain, Each hill, and each dale. Thus sang us each mountain, Each hill, and each dale, But youth is so short, and Our bliss is so frail. Our youth is so short, and Our bliss is so frail, Like shadows they flitted, Leaving pain in their trail. 124 SONGS OF A WANDERER Like shadows they flitted, Leaving pain in their trail, And left us in sunder Our dream to bewail. TO YOU 125 Co gou /^\NCE at parting we felt lonely, Meetings were so sweet ; Now once more we feel so lonely Only when we meet. . . . Once at parting we would trifle, But our hearts would cry ; Now we part and sigh, but truly Hearts and eyes are dry. . . . Once it used to be a mystery, Now it seems so plain ; Once we could not, now we would not, All the truth explain. i 2 6 SONGS OF A WANDERER 3 Dream A GOLDEN dream I had in May ; Both youth and dream Have passed away. My dream is lost, My youth is o'er ; I mourn them both, My dream the more. A youthless life Still real may seem ; But what is life Without a dream? THE LAST MELODY 127 Cfie JLa0t \A7HEN the singer's harp is silent, And no longer sighs or sings, Come, my dear, 'twixt dark and daylight, Gently touch the songless strings. And a miracle will happen : They will sigh and sing anew ; For a melody is left there, One last melody for you. Sweetly-sad and sadly- joyous, Like a message from above, Like the fragrance of the gloaming, Like the bliss and pain of love. Come, beloved, touch the harp-strings, They will sigh and sing anew ; For that melody lies hidden, . Waiting long, long years for you. 128 SONGS OF A WANDERER There I hid it sadly- joyous, When I still was pure and young ; If you come not, it will ever Hidden there remain, unsung. TO 129 Co - VA7HEN I was young, and pure, and sound, I offered you my heart, But you declined. Since then our ways Have lain f ore'er apart. My heart was broken. I was left Alone on earth to pine ; My heart was broken, but the bits, O, were they yours or mine ? I did not know ; but once I took The tiny, crumbling parts, And made a song of each. My songs Are tiny broken hearts. I sing my song, but do not know To whom it should belong ; It is not yours, it is not mine Pray, who will claim my song ? 130 SONGS OF A WANDERER Creature , I had no earthly jewels, Never knew the merchant's art ; All the jewels heaven gave me Heaven sealed within my heart. When I offered you my treasure, You declined, and we did part ; Child, you know not what a treasure You have missed a poet's heart. IN A DREAM 131 Un a Dream I WAS sitting alone by the sea-shore, And watching the waves from a steep ; The clouded sun was just setting, The waves were lulling to sleep. I dreamt my mother approached me: " Why are you so pale, my child? " The tears in her eyes were trembling, Though gloomily gazing she smiled. " O mother, since I left you, I found no rest and no friend, I roam a homeless vagrant The earth from end to end." She dropped a tear on my forehead. I woke it was starting to rain. The gloom o'er the sea grew deeper, And deeper grew likewise my pain. 132 SONGS OF A WANDERER Children T_T ERE they are, my little darlings, All their merry throng; Each of them a sportive fairy, Each a living song. Voices silver bells are chiming ; Eyes transparent streams, Deep and sparkling, and reflecting, Heaven's purest beams. Little teeth carved pearly jewels, Waving gold their hair ; Merry laughter bells of silver, Ringing in the air. Songs they are, the little darlings, Songs devoid of themes ; When I see them play, there spring up All my childhood's dreams. CHILDREN AND FLOWERS 133 CftflDren and Jflotoer0 \7 OU ask me, friend, what best I love In life's most blissful hours, When earth is bright as heaven above I children love and flowers. I know no gem of greater worth In this fair world of ours Than flowers, children of the earth, And children, earth's fair flowers. You ask me, friend, what I love best In life's autumnal hours, When hearts, like nature, long for rest I children love and flowers. The deepest joy sent from above To cheer this world of ours Are flowers, emblems of God's love, And children, love's pure flowers. 134 SONGS OF A WANDERER Wbtn 3 Die \A7HEN I die O be it May-time, When the linnets sweetly trill, When gay children at their playtime Hill and vale with gladness fill ; In the dreamy twilight hours, When the skies are blue and deep, I should say with dozing flowers : " Earth, good night ! " and go to sleep. Flowers, too, should be adorning That lone grave where I am lain, Till, like flowers, one fair morning I awake to life again. I WILL NOT CHANGE 135 Tb Will Jftot Change T WILL not change my path with you, O worshippers of gold! My path is rough, but heaven-lit, And yours is smooth, but cold. In your resplendent halls each night The ghost of envy strides, Whilst in the castle of my heart The living God resides. My heart is young, though youth is gone ; Your hearts in youth are old ; I will not change one golden dream For all your dreams of gold. 136 SONGS OF A WANDERER Like a 15itD in tfje T SING like a bird in the sky, Not knowing, not reasoning why ; I sing like the breezes in spring, I sing when my soul bids me sing. Whatsoever may start songs and tunes in my heart, I sing like a bird in the sky. I sing like the brook and the stream, And free is my heart-woven dream ; My song from within is ordained, And fountain-like flows unrestrained. When with joys or with woes my full heart overflows, I sing like the brook and the stream. / SING LIKE A BIRD IN THE SKY 137 I sing like the stars in the night, When weaving their motions of light ; I sing with all nature around ; I sing, for to sing I am bound. With no aim and no goal, from the soul of my soul, I sing like the stars in the night. 138 SONGS OF A WANDERER 3 Deati IBitd ] WALKED in the wood, And the birds' songs I heard, So shrill and so sweet, And my heart was so stirred ! Beneath in the grass Lay a dead little bird. I gazed at the bird That lay mute on the ground ; I heard the sweet songs That were trilling around ; " Dead singer," I mused, " Who now misses thy sound ? A DEAD BIRD 139 Where be now the sweet tunes In the wood thou hast shed ? New singers, new notes, Have taken thy stead ; Who misses his song When the singer is dead ? My fate, little songster, To thine will be like : When my hour for silence Eternal shall strike, The song and the singer Will vanish alike." i 4 o SONGS OF A WANDERER two Cears T N the depth of my heart, On its grief-riddled bed, There are songs yet unsung, There are tears yet unshed. But the songs and the tears In one multitude throng, Till, instead of a tear, Sometimes bursts out a song. And the sound of a song In my soul when I hear, From my heart to my eye Rolls a grief-laden tear. But at times they combine, Flow together along ; Then I cannot guess which Is a tear, which a song. BETRAYED 141 TBettapeD HTHE night was still and star-lit, Dumbly I gazed on high ; Only the stars in heaven Could hear my bosom's sigh. But the stars betrayed my secret ; My sorrow they revealed In the sky to every song-bird, On earth to wood and field. And now each bird in the forest, Each fluttering blade and leaf, Croons and whispers and babbles My jealously hidden grief. 10 SONGS OF A WANDERER a pledge T PLEDGED my soul on high, And borrowed love's fair dream, But lost my dream on earth ; What will my pledge redeem ? Now, forfeited, my soul Remains a pledge above, Whilst I on earth in vain Still seek the dream of love. TWO SORROWS 143 Ctoo \A Y heart was young and cheerful, Life's care I did not know ; Then came the grief of mankind, And filled my heart with woe. Now fate, with years, has brought me, My own deep grief and pain ; And now my heart is bursting It cannot both contain. And as I feel it bursting, I call to heav'n and pray : O God, take mankind's sorroWj Or else take mine away ! 144 SONGS OF A WANDERER l^eart CATE, the heartsmith, on his anvil, Had my glowing heart, Struck and beat it with his hammer, And the sparks did dart, In the smithy's puddles falling Spark by spark. When the heart grew cold and hardened, Fate, the heartsmith, spoke : " Take thy heart, it was not fitted For its earthly yoke ; Take it back, I've made it human Hard and dark." TWO FATES 145 Ctoo , you say it seems so strange That my moods and likes so change Sad and gay, and meek and proud, Love each man, and hate the crowd. Heaven gave me, child, two things: Lust to fly and cut-off wings. Bondman's fate and freeman's strife These my portions are in life. Born for joy and made to weep, Born to soar and taught to creep. And my soul thus humbly-proud Is a flame enwrapped in cloud. This is why I sing and cry, Crawl on earth, and soar in sky. This is why I falling rise, This is why my songs are sighs. i 4 6 SONGS OF A WANDERER T N the mellow beams Of the pallid moon, In the wordless songs That the streamlets croon, In the lays of love That the linnet trills, In the zephyr's breath O'er the vales and hills, In the sylvan tales Whispered by the trees, In the golden dreams Wafted by the breeze, In each warbling bird Airy little elf Everywhere I hear And I see myself. MYSELF 147 If I cease to breathe, If I cease to love, All is mute on earth And in the sky above. i 4 8 SONGS OF A WANDERER SDeal \ A/ HAT I pray for and desire Is no treasure, store of gold, But a soul that can aspire, And a heart that grows not old ; But a spot, where I may, after My day's toil is at an end, Hear gay children's silver laughter, Watch the sun in gold descend ; But a streamlet cool to greet me, When I pass through grove and mead, And a maiden's smile to meet me, And a poet's page to read. In my homeland live and labor As my guide the sky above; And a palm-grove as my neighbor, As my friend the one I love. TO A RICH FRIEND 149 Co a EUcf) jfrienD T DID not bow to you my head, To you who from your birth By slaves were hailed a lord of slaves, To rule a servile earth. I did not bow to you my head, To you whom God did curse ; He put a purse within your heart, Your heart within a purse. I did not bow to you my head, When I was starved for bread, Or parched with thirst, or numbed with cold- I did not bow my head. When I was starved, I pitied you. My heart for you felt sad ; I would not take your gold your soul The only soul you had. ISO SONGS OF A WANDERER When starved for bread, or numbed with cold, I did not bow my head ; For I was rich, and you were poor, You lacked a soul, I bread. TO MY RICH BROTHER 151 Co 6@p Bici) IBrotfjer T SEE you in your mansion All-powerful and proud, Emblazoned in your splendor Amidst a flattering crowd. A cottage and a garden To me on earth belong, My path in life is humble, My realm, the realm of song. And yet, in faith, my brother, I envy not your part : He needs no gold, nor jewels To whom God gave a heart. Have robes of silk and velvet As many as you will, The velvet of my pansies Is finer woven still. 152 SONGS OF A WANDERER And may your diamonds glitter, And may your opals shine, The diamond stars are brighter, The opal sky is mine. And be of rare old silver Your goblet, dish, and spoon, My silver is still older The silver of the moon. From all your hired musicians Such tunes you never heard As on a fair spring morning The music of a bird. Your tapestries and landscapes, However rare and quaint My sunrise and my sunset A finer brush did paint. TO MY RICH BROTHER 153 Your realm is rich and gorgeous, Your realm to me is strange, My path in life is humble And that I will not change. But should you ever, brother, Feel worn, and tired, and cold, I know of bliss and pleasures You cannot buy for gold. And should you ever, brother, For love and freedom long, Then come into my garden, The realm of love and song. 154 SONGS OF A WANDERER anD T HAVE no armor, helm, or shield From life's sore darts to save me; My weapon in this battlefield Is but the harp God gave me. He gave me, too, a heart to sigh And pine and bleed for others, When from the field I hear the cry : " Help ! help ! we are your brothers." It thrills me through with anguish sharp To leave their call unheeded ; " Of what avail," they say, " your harp, Where spear and sword are needed ? " I cannot meet their burning eyes, That righteous wrath betoken ; Shamed, dumb, I stand in sorry wise, My harp and heart are broken. A SONG 155 CAY, not, child, that in these songs You have read a part Of the hopes and dreams that once Filled the singer's heart. Child, the poet's fairest dreams Reach no mortal ears, For the sweetness of his songs Only his soul hears. Of his heart-begotten flame Words are cast-off shades, Just as rubies shine in rocks, Pearls in ocean glades, So the poet's deepest dreams, Love, and joy, and pain, Unexpressed in mortal words, In his heart remain. 1 56 SONGS OF A WANDERER C&e JFeast of I N the sunny days of childhood From my grandfather I heard Charming tales of by-gone ages That my spirit deeply stirred. Charming tales and ancient legends That I felt, I knew, were true : Stories of the hoary ages That remain forever new. Of the Pesach-days he told me, Days that joy and sunshine bring; Of the Festival of Freedom, Of revival and of spring. Of the slave people in Egypt, Whose hot blood, so rashly spilt, Soaked into the bricks and mortar Of the fortresses they built. THE FEAST OF SPRING 157 How on them, the God-forsaken, After gloomy, wintry days, Shone at last the rays of freedom, Heaven's bright, benignant rays. How among them rose a prophet, Like a guiding star by night ; And when pleading for their freedom, How he crushed a tyrant's might. How he taught the fettered people Not in vain their blood to spill ; Turning bondmen into freemen, Men of honor and of will. How no despot's might could hinder, Nor their freedom's march restrain, Till before their will resistless Stormy ocean burst in twain. ii 158 SONGS OF A WANDERER Then was Israel's glorious springtime, After which a summer came, Followed by a golden harvest, Free from yoke and free from shame. When my grandfather I questioned : " How long did that summer last ? " Gloomily he gazed and pondered, And he answered me at last : " Child, it was a long, bright summer, But a winter came again ; Came with cold, and mist, and darkness, Came with storms of grief and pain. Frost and tempest strife, contention- Raged once more in every part, Stealing into souls and freezing Will and hope in every heart. THE FEAST OF SPRING 159 Furious storm once more dispersed us ; Israel, erstwhile free and great, Into lands of cruel despots Went to face a bondman's fate." " Is this winter, prithee, endless ? " Questioning again I sighed ; And two crystal tears were trembling In his eyes when he replied : Nay, my boy, it seems but endless, But it cannot, will not be ; Israel's shackles will be broken, One fair day he will be free ! In his soul will reawaken Courage, will, and pride, and might ; Freedom's sunrise, child, will follow His long, starless exile night. 160 SONGS OF A WANDERER But till then, ere spring's arrival For the wintry steps are slow Pesach is a sweet remembrance Of a spring of long ago." THE SEDER 161 Cfte /COTTAGES whitewashed, And cosy and neat, Smilingly waiting The spring feast to meet. Happy- faced children At play here and there, Perfume and freshness Of spring in the air. II Bashfully blushing, The sun, like a bride, Goes down in crimson In Westland to hide. 162 SONGS OF A WANDERER Fair is the twilight, And fragrant and still ; Little by little The synagogues fill. One by one kindle The night's gleaming eyes Candles in windows, And stars in the skies. Ill Ended in Shul is The service divine ; Seder is started With legends and wine. Father is blessing The night of all nights; All who are hungry To feast he invites. THE SEDER 163 " All who are homeless Yet masters shall be, Slaves who are this year The next shall be free ! " Children ask " questions," And father replies; Playfully sparkle The wine and the eyes. Hymns of redemption All merrily sing, Queen is each mother, Each father, a king. IV Midnight. The Seder Is come to an end ; Guardian angels From heaven descend. 1 64 SONGS OF A WANDERER Each one a message Of liberty brings, Scattering blessings Of peace from his wings. V Asleep is the townlet, The field, and the lake ; Only the full moon Above is awake, Shedding its tender, Its silvery light, Guarding God's chosen, God's people to-night. THE FEAST OF WEEKS 165 4Fea0t of \A/ E have an ancient custom Surviving from the East, To decorate our dwellings With flowers for the feast. How quaint is this old custom From East to exile brought! But why does it awaken In me such gloomy thought? I see the flower-bearers 'Mid ghetto's rush and strife, And in my mind is woven A dream of vanished life. A land with fair green pastures Is in my vision born, And palm and cedar forests, And fields of golden corn, 1 66 SONGS OF A WANDERER And mountains trimmed with olives, And vales with lilies decked, And peasants strong and happy, With heart and head erect. Each garden and each vineyard In tones of plenty speaks, Rich nature celebrating Its glorious Feast of Weeks. The men like stately cedars, The women tall as palms, Their festal hymns are chanting, Their wondrous sacred psalms. And children, gay and merry, Arrive in fair array, Luxuriant laurels bearing In honor of the day. THE FEAST OF WEEKS 167 The phantom views are vanished ; Around, alas, I see A sordid, gloomy ghetto No sign of field or tree. I see through busy alleys A Jew his flowers bring, To decorate his dwelling In memory of spring. Oh, long has he forgotten His fair, his native home ; In exile he has learned From town to town to roam. No longer a Judean A weary, exiled Jew ; In ghetto he is praying For harvest, rain, and dew. 168 SONGS OF A WANDERER I see him bent and weary O God, how sad it is! How long will he pluck flowers From fields that are not his ? And prayingly I murmur: " O Israel's Rock and Shield, Bring back Thy ancient people To garden, wood, and field. Let them revive the custom, Fair custom of the East, With flowers from their gardens To celebrate their feast." HANUKKAH LIGHTS 169 Danukkaf) Li I KINDLED my eight little candles, My Hanukkah candles, and lo ! Fair visions and dreams half-forgotten Were rising of years long ago. I musingly gazed at my candles, Meseemed in their quivering flames In golden, in fiery letters I read the old, glorious names ; The names of our heroes immortal, The noble, the brave, and the true; A battlefield saw I in vision, Where many were conquered by few ; And mute lay the Syrian army, Judea's proud foe, in the field ; And Judas, the brave Maccabaeus, I saw in his helmet and shield. 170 SONGS OF A WANDERER His eyes shone like bright stars of heaven, Like music resounded his voice : " Brave comrades, we fought and we conquered, Now let us in God's name rejoice ! We conquered ; but know, my brave comrades, No triumph is due to the sword ; Remember our motto and watchword, ' For the people and towns of the Lord.' " He spoke, and from all the four corners An echo repeated each word ; The woods and the mountains re-echoed : " For the people and towns of the Lord." And swiftly the message spread, calling : " Judea, Judea is free ! Rekindled the lamp in the Temple, Rekindled each bosom with glee ! " HANUKKAH LIGHTS 171 My Hanukkah candles soon flickered, Around me was darkness of night ; But deep in my soul I felt shining A heavenly, wonderful light. 172 SONGS OF A WANDERER Ct>e HP HE Rabbi tells his old, old tale, The pupils seated round. "... And thus, my boys, no holy oil In the Temple could be found. The heathens left no oil to light The Lord's eternal lamp ; At last one jar, one single jar, Was found with the high priest's stamp. Its oil could only last one day But God hath wondrous ways ; For lo ! a miracle occurred : It burned for eight whole days." The tale was ended, but the boys, All open-eyed and dumb, Sat listening still, as though aware Of stranger things to come. THE MIRACLE 173 Just wait, my boys, permit me, pray, The liberty to take ; Your Rabbi may he pardon me Has made a slight mistake. Not eight days, but two thousand years That jar of oil did last, To quell its wondrous flames availed No storm, no flood, no blast. But this is not yet all, my boys : The miracle just starts. This flame is kindling light and hope In countless gloomy hearts. And in our long and starless night, Lest we should go astray, It beacon-like sheds floods of light, And eastwards points the way, 12 174 SONGS OF A WANDERER Where light will shine on Zion's hill, As in the days of old. The miracle is greater, boys, Than what your Rabbi told. A PRAYER 175 3 prapet OD, I pray Thee, grant Thy people Just their daily bread ; Not the bread of strife and friction, Not the bread of sad affliction, Tearless daily bread ; Not the bread by slaves desired, Not the bread by shame acquired Honest daily bread ; That they may no longer gather Crumbs from wealthy tables, Father, Give their daily bread ! God, I pray Thee, grant Thy people Courage, heart, and strength; Not the strength, like tempest rushing, On its way all wrecking, crushing Noble heart and strength ; 176 SONGS OF A WANDERER That in man's inhuman battle, They may not, like driven cattle, Slaughtered be at length ; That they may be self -depending, That they may be self -de fending, God, O give them strength ! God, I pray Thee, grant Thy people Just a little pride ; Not the pride that severs brothers, Seeing only faults in others True and noble pride ; That their young, and brave, and healthy, That their wise, and strong, and wealthy, Drift not with the tide ; That whatever in life their stations, Theirs be noble aspirations, God, O give them pride ! A PRAYER 177 God, I pray Thee, grant Thy people Shelter and a home ; Not a home that swords acquire, Not a home of blood and fire Just a peaceful home ; That they may not ever wander, Torn and rent in parts asunder, Tramp the earth and roam ; That their bond be never shattered, That they be no longer scattered, God, O bring them home! 178 SONGS OF A WANDERER ] BELIEVE, O my friend, That the day will arrive When all nations for peace And for justice will strive ; When in kindness and truth Soul will answer to soul, And when love in her grace Will the peoples control ; When man, humbled, enslaved, Will raise proudly his head, When no groans will be heaved, And no tears will be shed. O my friend, I believe In life's heavenly goal, In the height of man's mind, In the depth of man's soul ; MY FAITH 179 In the triumph of truth, In all mankind's rebirth, In the kingdom of light, In the glory on earth. That bright beacon, dear friend, Through our fog gleams to me ; But between, O, between, What a stormy, wild sea ! And the sea is so deep With its tears, with its glooms ; And the shore, that bright shore, So remotely it looms. And the gale is so fierce, And so dark is the night ; And the fog is so dense, And so faint is the light ; i8o SONGS OF A WANDERER That I know, O dear friend, Not for you nor for me 'Tis that shore to attain Through this turbulent sea. A NEW SONG 181 3 H3eto D Y the Babylonian billows Sat and wept the exiled Jew ; Judah's harp hung mute on willows Now I wish to sing anew. Hush, old lamentation reader, Cease to weep, and whine, and carp ! Left old Lebanon no cedar For a new-strung Judah's harp ? Has the exile, vile and odious, Rooted out king David's art ? Is there left no soul melodious To awake the exile's heart ? Nay, a new sun rises o'er us, Judah's harp hung mute too long ; Come with me and join the chorus Of a new-sung Zion's song! SONGS OF A WANDERER Cenant IN my youth hope hired In my heart a tent ; Promised me a fortune, Never paid her rent. Bankrupt is my tenant This I know at length Why then to expel her Do I lack the strength ? DREAMS OF YOUTH 183 Dreams of goutft /^V NO, they will not die, My golden dreams of youth, When faith, and bliss, and love No phantoms were, but truth. When earth appeared to me A sky-reflecting brook ; When my pure childish heart Was but a sacred book ; A book where noble deeds Wrote here and there a line, And oft engraved their names In characters divine. O childhood's book sublime, In thee I find a page That time will not efface, That will not fade with age. 1 84 SONGS OF A WANDERER The time when earth below Seemed fair as heav'n above, When all the world around Foretold but life and love. O no, it cannot die, My wondrous dream of youth, The time before I knew How sad is earthly truth ; Before I saw the world When stripped of veil and mask, Before I knew how sad, How vain the dreamer's task. And though I trod life's path Of grooves, and ruts, and mire, Youth's shrine, though long destroyed, Yet sheds a sacred fire. DREAMS OF YOUTH 185 Thus trembles still a tune, Although the cord is rent ; Thus, though the rose be dead, Still fragrant is its scent. 186 SONGS OF A WANDERER D EFORE his statue long I stood ; It seemed to me I understood His heart's desire : To carry heaven's light to men, Though he must suffer torture then For stealing fire. But one sad thought perplexed my soul : My ancient people never stole God's treasured light ; To them His flame Himself He gave, When life was dim, when man was slave And wrapped in night. PROMETHEUS 187 Prometheus, though thy woe be great, Yet sadder is my people's fate, Their grief and pain ; To men they brought God's treasured flame, And suffered torture, wrong, and shame In vain, in vain ! Before his statue when I stood, And saw the vulture drink his blood, I sadly thought : My people, too, through endless years Shed streams of blood and floods of tears For light they brought. 1 88 SONGS OF A WANDERER Cf)e Linnet IT AVE you heard the linnet trilling, To discover did you try What is hidden in her carol- Does she sing or does she cry ? I am singing like the linnet, When my heart does pine and long ; Love, and pain, and joy, and sorrow, All are hidden in my song. TO MY NEAREST FRIEND 189 Co Q@v Nearest jFrienD Forgive ! side by side lived many years, And from the hour we first did meet We fairly shared life's smiles and tears, We shared life's bitter herbs and sweet. And oft you brightened like a star The dark horizon of my heart ; And still we oft were near and far, Both knit in one, and yet apart. Your soul is simple, kind, and true, But mine, forgive, you oft mistook ; The dreamer's soul remained to you With seven seals a sealed book. 13 1 90 SONGS OF A WANDERER Forgive ! I know not what it might have been, If you had read that book aright ; Perchance we both would then have seen Life's goal in quite a different light. LIFE 191 Life \A7HEN thy sky sheds golden light On thy earth all bloom-bedight, Full of fragrance and delight, And thy heart believes in right, Virtue, manliness, and truth Thine is happy youth. When from nature's hidden stream Flows into thy heart a dream That makes life a poet's theme, And the earth an Eden seem, Fair and pure as heav'n above Friend, thou art in love ! 1 92 SONGS OF A WANDERER When thy earth seems one vast plain, Whereon men, with might and main, Struggle something to attain : Rise, and fall, and rise again, Wounding, wounded in the strife Thou but seest life. When thy earth looks grey and old, Like an autumn barren wold, And thy heart, so lone and cold, Feels as though its tale is told Youth, and love, and life, dear friend, All proclaim the end. A PROCESSION 193 3 procession was that night, I remember, Late in the month of December, Freezing, and snowing, and hailing, Sadly the north-wind was wailing, Wailing, like one who beseeches Shelter from demons and witches That in the Tsar's dismal regions Crowd the dark forests in legions. And in that night of December I a procession remember Not a procession of freemen Men-folk, and children, and women, Driven along without pity Out of the Tsar's holy city. Faces so pallid and fearful, Eyes looking frightened and tearful, 194 SONGS OF A WANDERER Shivering bodies scant-covered Death shadows over them hovered Passing in dismal procession. What was their crime, their transgression ? Ah, in those holy dominions Heresies were their opinions. Hailing it was then and snowing, Fiercely the north-wind was blowing, Piping so mournful a ditty. Pouring out sighs on the city. Sadly I watched as they wandered. Where are they led to I pondered Which friendly haven will greet them, Which friendly countenance meet them, Where are on earth their defenders, Theirs, the eternal offenders? Plodding they clung to each other, Parents, and sister, and brother, A PROCESSION 195 Slowly and heavily pacing, Mothers their infants embracing, And with their mouth breath them warming. Wildly the north-wind was storming, And as they walked in depression, Meseemed 'twas a ghostly procession. Sadly that night of December I shall forever remember 1 196 SONGS OF A WANDERER OnDaunteD / ~PHE flowers bud, the flowers fade, The sun-lit day grows cold ; The streamlets flow, the streamlets freeze, The year is growing old. The cradle and the tomb are twins, Go arm in arm on earth ; And love is pain, and joy is grief, And sadness lurks in mirth. Hear life's echo calling, warning Man, and grove and field : " Tender flower, soon thou f adest ; Oak, thy fate is sealed. Maiden, short-lived is thy beauty ; Child, thou growest old ; Sunny summer, swift thy parting Winter marches cold. UNDAUNTED 197 Youth departs, and beauty withers, Life on earth is doomed." I alone shall never wither I I have never bloomed. Winter has for me no horror Spring I have not seen ; Age? I fear not its arrival Young I have not been. Life can ne'er claim back the treasures It refused to give: I shall never fade nor perish I did never live. i 9 8 SONGS OF A WANDERER \ Co a Critic \\7 HAT ! I do not sing I cry ! And you wonder why ? Have you ever tried, my friend, E'er to suffer to no end, Life to be an empty name, With no goal in it, no aim, Oft to read on every face Open joy at your disgrace : Your fate decided, Your dreams derided, Your talents unheeded, Your virtues unneeded, Your presence a danger To all men a stranger ; With heavens grey and dull as lead Hanging o'er thy head ? TO A CRITIC 199 Or, did you in a desert stray, Seeing no escape, no way, Carried by some fatal blast To no future from no past ; Void of dreams, and void of hope, Slide some fatal slope Of an abyss You cannot miss; And yet, Love, and pine, and feel regret? You, who have a home, a friend, This will never comprehend, And you must not ask me why I, an exile singer, cry ! SONGS OF A WANDERER Ctoo '"THE mother bird sat with her babe on a twig ; The little one tremblingly lisped to the big : " O mother, I shudder, O mother, I fear A man with a gun I saw passing us near. O mother, I saw he was lifting his head, O mother, I fear he will shoot us both dead." The mother bird soothed her baby's alarm : " O worry not, darling, he'll do us no harm ; Thou hearest the thunders on sea and on shore All these are the signals of mankind at war. O worry not, darling, his gun do not mind : The man is too busy with killing his kind." TO-MORROW \J( Y day is a father, a mother my night, Their child is, dear friend, my to-morrow ; How can I expect that their child will be bright An offspring of gloom and of sorrow? SONGS OF A WANDERER autumn A LL the songs are sung, All the birds are fled ; Hill and dale proclaim : " Summer fair is dead." Sullen, cloud-veiled skies Look on earth and weep ; Meadow, wood, and field Robe in mourning deep ; And the angry wind, With its icy breath, Carries round the tale Of the summer's death. Autumn in the skies, Autumn in the air; Autumn fills the soul, Autumn everywhere. AUTUMN 203 Doleful days like these I prefer to spend With my speechless grief With my bosom-friend. Long-gone days revive, Crowd in gloomy hosts ; Childhood, youth emerge From their graves like ghosts ; Childhood that had gone, Void of joy and light ; Youth that fled away, Cold and dark as night. And a voice half-choked Whispers in my ear: " Exile child, thy life Passed like autumn drear ; 204 SONGS OF A WANDERER Starless were thy nights, Sunless were thy days ; Ne'er to thee have smiled Heaven's cheerful rays. Sorrow gave thee birth, Exile was thy nurse; Cruel fate has sealed On thy brow a curse, Like the autumn wind Aimlessly to roam, Wander round the earth, Nowhere find a home; Bear a pining soul, Look with tearful eyes On the world and men Like the autumn skies ; AUTUMN 205 Like an autumn field, Void of heaven's beams, Bear an empty heart, Void of hope and dreams ; And from birth to grave Trudge a thorny way, Like a funeral train In an autumn day." 14 206 SONGS OF A WANDERER \A7HEN the stars by night sing vespers, And devoutly shine, From above a still voice whispers : " One of them is thine." As I lift my eyes in wonder, I behold my star : Lone and pale it travels yonder, Cold, and dim, and far. ALONE IN THE DESERT 207 3lone in tfje Desert \/f Y guiding light is dying, The night is cold and dark : I can't find in the desert My way without a spark. My guiding light is dying, In vain I strain my sight . For boundless is the desert, Engulfed in starless night. My guiding light is dying No gleam, no moon, no star ; My way is wrapped in darkness, The day, alas, is far ! 208 SONGS OF A WANDERER Co Life /^OME with me to justice, life, If thou fear not truth : Thou has robbed me of my dreams, Treasures of my youth. For thy blissful moments few Thou hast charged me years, And for every treacherous smile Disillusion, tears. Pure and faithful was my heart When I was a child ; Why hast thou my trust, my faith, And my love defiled ? Come with me to justice, life, If thou fear not truth : Give my dreams and visions back, Treasures of my youth. TO LIFE 209 If thou canst not give them back, Why prolong the strife ? Void of youth and void of dreams, Who can prize thee, life? SONGS OF A WANDERER \A7HEN I am dead, Write o'er my head, On marble, stone, or slate : Here lies a man Who life did scan With aims and claims too great ; Who free and proud Among the crowd Was placed by cruel fate ; Who 'midst the throng In vain did long And search for friend or mate ; ^ Whom, from above I Being sent to love, 1 Life could not teach to hate. THE FOUNTAIN OF LOVE C&e ^Fountain of JLofce , each man has a heart, And each heart has a dream ; Yet of one they are part, Though so many they seem. Like the myriads of beams From the great sun above, To men's hearts flow all dreams From one fountain of love. SONGS OF A WANDERER i)ouiu$t Cfcou COisij to (After the Hebrew of Bialik) A ND shouldst thou wish to know the source From which thy tortured brethren drew In evil days their strength of soul To meet their doom, stretch out their necks To each uplifted knife and axe, In flames, on stakes to die with joy, And with a whisper " God is one " To close their lips ? And shouldst thou wish to find the spring From which thy banished brethren drew, 'Midst fear of death and fear of life, Their comfort, courage, patience, trust, And iron will to bear their yoke, To live bespattered and despised, And suffer to no end ? AND SHOULDST THOU WISH TO KNOW 213 And shouldst thou wish to see the lap Whereon thy people's galling tears In ceaseless torrents fell and fell, And hear the cries that moved the hills, And thrilled Satan with awe and grief, But not the stony heart of man, Than Satan's and than rock's more hard ? And shouldst thou wish to see the fort Wherein thy fathers refuge sought, And all their sacred treasures hid, The refuge that has still preserved Thy nation's soul intact and pure, And when despised, and scorned, and scoffed, Their faith they did not shame? And shouldst thou wish to see and know Their mother, faithful, loving, kind, Who gathered all the burning tears Of her bespattered, hapless sons, And when to her in grief they came, 2i 4 SONGS OF A WANDERER She tenderly wiped off their tears, And sheltered them, and shielded them, And lulled them on her lap to sleep ? If thou, my brother, knowest not This mother, spring, and lap, and fort, Then enter thou the House of God, The House of Study, old and grey, Throughout the sultry summer days, Throughout the gloomy winter nights. At morning, midday, or at eve ; Perchance there is a remnant yet, Perchance thy eye may still behold In some dark corner, hid from view, A cast-off shadow of the past, The profile of some pallid face, Upon an ancient folio bent, Who seeks to drown unspoken woes In the talmudic boundless waves ; And then thy heart shall guess the truth AND SHOULDST THOU WISH TO KNOW 215 That them hast touched the sacred ground Of thy great nation's House of Life, And that thy eyes do gaze upon The treasure of thy nation's soul. And know that this is but a spark That by a miracle escaped Of that bright light, that sacred flame, Thy forebears kindled long ago On altars high and pure. 2i6 SONGS OF A WANDERER 3n (Evening Draper \A7HEN the dying sun's traces of blood Are yet staining the heaven's blue field, When black shadows invade hill and wood, And the doom of the day has been sealed ; Wnen the mist robs the trees of their gold, Of their crystal each streamlet and spring, When the flowers do shiver with cold At the flutter of night's chilly wing ; Then my prayer to heaven I send : " God of mercy, the source of all light, Be a shield, and a guide, and a friend To all strayed who are guideless by night ! " THE JEWISH SOLDIER 217 31etois& (An episode of the Russo-Japanese war) LJE was both young and brave, Of iron heart and hand ; He loved his wife, his child, He loved his native land. But when the bugle called His country to defend, Nor home could keep him back, Nor wife, nor child, nor friend. " Good-bye, dear wife," he said, " And if in field I fall, Be sure a soldier died, Obeying duty's call." zi8 SONGS OF A WANDERER And bravely fighting for His homeland and his Tsar, Of wife and child he dreamt,- They were his guiding star. A wonder to his mates, A horror to his foe, No danger, hunger, thirst He seemed to care or know. His fighting mates came home, The battle long was o'er ; He, too, came home, alas, To find his home no more. His wife and child were slain, While he from them was far, By holy Russia's sons, The favoured of his Tsar. THE JEWISH SOLDIER 219 A shapeless heap he found, Where erst his cottage stood ; And in that heap he saw The traces of their blood. A heap of blood and dust, No living soul was there ; The dauntless heart in war Was conquered by despair. The heart in field unhurt Was pierced by fate's sore dart. The stream, the cold, black stream, Did heal his wounded heart. SONGS OF A WANDERER Ctoo Cf)tonc0 (Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Theodor Herzl) c 4 I S it true, O tell me, mother, What I was in Cheder told ? That there are two thrones in heaven, One of tears and one of gold. That the throne of gold by Gentiles Was presented for God's use, And the throne of tears unused yet Was the humble gift of Jews. But one day when great Jehovah Will ascend our throne with might, All our tears will turn to diamonds, And will shed a wondrous light. TWO THRONES Then Messiah, long expected, Will forsake the gates of Rome, And will lead the exiled people Back to their ancestral home. But, alas, our throne is faulty, For it lacks a single screw, Dearest mother, what a pity! Is it, prithee, really true ? " " True, my child," the mother answered, " What you were in Cheder told ; But that screw, it must be, darling, Not of tears, and not of gold. Nay, it must be forged of courage In a brave, true Jewish heart ; But, alas, my child, we cannot Find a place that work to start, is SONGS OF A WANDERER Thus our throne remains unfinished, And throughout the endless years, We are vainly weeping, weeping, Merely adding useless tears." For a while the boy stood musing, Murm'ring softly : " Is it true? " Then exclaimed with childish fervor; " Mother, I shall forge the screw." SPRING AND AUTUMN 223 anD autumn Spring. HTHE earth and the heaven both rival To celebrate nature's revival ; Beholding prince spring on arrival, The mountains and forests salute. On carpets of silk softly treading, Sweet nectar from flower-cups shedding, A guest at the world's golden wedding, . He plays on a gold-spangled lute. The heaven sends sun rays to treat him, The streamlets speed gaily to meet him, The birds with their chorus to greet him My heart, why alone is it mute ? Autumn. Dark shadows and clouds are parading, The gloomy earth gloomier shading, 224 SONGS OF A WANDERER The pale, frightened flowers are fading, The birds their sad exodus start. The cornfield, laid waste by the reaper, In mourning robes deeper and deeper, The heaven, dead summer's beweeper, Sheds tears for the joys that depart. The dull days, each other resembling, The shadows, like night ghosts assembling, Each leaf and each heart set a-trembling Who wakes then a song in my heart ? MY KATE 225' mate YOU, of the set whom the vulgar call " smart," O you, who unblushingly state That wedlock and love are two things quite apart And rarely united by fate, Come visit my cottage, before you depart To sell or to purchase a mate, And see what in life is a woman's true part, How love renders noble and great ; And see that the queen of my house and my heart, My wife and my love, is my Kate. 226 SONGS OF A WANDERER Ctoo coal on the stone hearth is glowing ablaze ; I sit on my grandmother's knee, and I gaze At fiery serpents that rise and that fall, And caper with shadows that skip on the wall, Enshrouding the room with a fairy-knit veil, While grandmother tells me her charming old tale. There lived a godly man, Who ancient books did scan To learn the ways of God And paths the righteous trod. He had a godly heart That for all wronged did smart, And prayed to God that he The earth from ill might free. TWO MAGICIANS 227 And heaven kind at length Endowed with magic strength The sage who prayed and longed To help and right the wronged. And God did him reveal A talisman, to heal, To solace, help, and cheer All mankind, far and near, And wonders to perform: To chain the waves and storm, And, like a bird on high, To rise and soar in sky, That neither time, nor space Should stay his work of grace. Thus many, many years He wiped off human tears ; Wherever he appeared The wronged were helped and cheered. 228 SONGS OF A WANDERER My grandmother dear (be her memory blessed) Repaired long ago to her heavenly rest. I grew, and life tells me a story as strange, Albeit the magician with ages did change. For now our magician makes nature his slave : He fetters the tempest and bridles the wave, His voice all over the world can be heard, He fathoms the ocean, he soars like a bird, He measures the earth in its breadth, in its length ; 'Stead virtue and mercy his motto is strength, And oft his great magic he does but employ To plunder and ruin, to kill and destroy. O how our magician is great in his art ! One thing he is lacking a heart, but a heart. TO MY LOVE 229 Co opp JLotie (A Serenade) \A/ERE the stars but aware That to them I compare, Love, thy eyes, Full of glee they would shine With a light more divine In the skies. Were the roses aware That their breath I compare, Love, to thine, Vale and meadow and hill They with fragrance would fill, Like sweet wine. 230 SONGS OF A WANDERER Were the skylark aware That thy voice I compare To its trill, With its magic sweet song Wood and dale all day long It would fill. Were my heart but aware That a song or a prayer Hearts could move, Like a lark in the spring I would pray, and would sing Hymns of love. THE LIME-TREE 231 Ci)e Li , thou radiant skies adorest, And thou askest why I prefer the shady forest To the sun-lit sky! By the house, where I was born, Once a lime-tree stood ; A survivor, lost and lorn, Of a man-wrecked wood. All too soon my childhood ended, Lone I likewise grew ; And we both became befriended Lonely orphans two. And our sorrows to each other We confided then ; I, a child without a mother, He, a tree 'mong men. 232 SONGS OF A WANDERER Oft, when woe my soul invaded, 'Neath his heart-shaped leaf, Solaced, comforted, and shaded, I forgot my grief. And at length, when we were parted, Driven by my fate, None did sigh so faithful-hearted As my lime-tree mate. Child, thou radiant skies adorest, Canst thou now guess why I love more the shady forest Than the glowing sky ? MY FATE 233 JFate night, when dejected I sat in my room, She came unexpected Through shadows and gloom. She fairy-like glided, Approached me, and smiled ; " Thy fate is decided," She murmured, " dear child. (For, lo, my decisions Have heaven's assent) Thy life just in visions Henceforth shall be spent. The years shall be streaming, But thee they shall miss, For thou shalt be dreaming Of youth and of bliss. 234 SONGS OF A WANDERER Though autumn and showers The earth shall invade, Thy heart-watered flowers Shall bloom undecayed ; And though thou art driven, And sufferest wrong, Thy earth shall be heaven, Thy sigh just a song." She having thus spoken Her blessing or curse, The darkness was broken, The clouds did disperse; The moon came out shining In silver above ; Since then I am pining For youth and for love. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES COLLEGE LIBRARY This book is due on the last date stamped below. Book Slip-25m-9,'59(A4772s4)4280 UCLA-College Library PS 3535 R1837S L 005 744 594 2 Library 1 001 ,207 370 6