• harp, 2 pianos
  • Soprano
  • 20 min
  • Tirtza Dorman
  • Hebrew

Programme Note

Literal Translations of the text:
1. Small Graves
There, in the land of the dead
Will you look for me?
Will you say this is my mother,
the one that didn't take care of me?

Is this where we are now

Here, babies that lay beside you
I know them. So what?

Small graves

2. On the Edge of the Grave
On the edge of the grave
One small baby
A small victim of war

And in my intestines there grows
Another baby

Your little brother

That will be born in two months
Today
Your burial day

3. The Scream of your Baby
Every night, when the eyelids are heavy
When the sould craves rest
The scream of your baby, my baby
The scream, a horrible screech!

A scream that penetrates the brain
A scream from a brain that was penetrated
With a thick needle
A needle that breaks the skull

They said "abscess"
I heard "soul"

The scream of the baby, the cry of the baby

And my father's voice calls his name

BOAZ!!!

 

4. The Children are Flowers
The children are flowers
They ebb and flow
Like many waters
Against the chests of their proud parents

The children are waves
They flow and crash
As if splashing
Against the hearts of aching parents

The parents are rocks
Covered with moss and bleeding
And nothing sticks onto them except foam

5. As if, but not
Two dimples
And purplish eyes
A button-like nose
And a smiling face

As if taken off a children's book
As if taken off the photo of a baby-powder bottle

As if, but not

Scores

Sample Pages