Julia Hartwig, born in Poland in 1921, wrote this “reflection on freedom and its mixed blessings. It seems especially apt as Jews gather this evening for the first Seder of Passover, a ritual retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.”
YET WE DESIRE IT ABOVE ALL
Freedom does not mean happiness right away
the free world hides more traps than tyranny
mastiffs let loose from chains passions exceeding the horizon
steps entangled in the ropes of old bonds
that try to pull tight again
Freedom both for scoundrels and those
who sacrificed themselves for it
freedom for those who feel as pure as a diamond
and want to cut deeply surrendering passionately
to a new slavery—of hatred
from which the earth cracks like under dynamite
changing the course of rivers
(With thanks to Borzoi Press and Ann Kirkland of www.classicalpursuits.com)
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