"Flower's Peerless by Compare"
"Flower's Peerless by Compare"
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Inspired by the poems of Joseph ben Tanchum ha-Yerushalmi, 13th-14th century Egyptian Jewish poet, especially Diwan IV:17, as translated by Dr. Hayim Y. Shenynin. In this case, I took the imagery and thematic ideas of the original text, and chose to not stay close to any particular form, roughly organizing the piece into a rough syllable-count with the rhyme scheme of a zajal to allow for more stream-of-consciousness than normally implied in a rigid repeated foot of English forms. Finally, I included a "turn" in the form of a list of rhetorical questions that also returns to a more regular stress-count in order to emphasize the shift in focus.
Inspired by the poems of Joseph ben Tanchum ha-Yerushalmi, 13th-14th century Egyptian Jewish poet, especially Diwan IV:17, as translated by Dr. Hayim Y. Shenynin. In this case, I took the imagery and thematic ideas of the original text, and chose to not stay close to any particular form, roughly organizing the piece into a rough syllable-count with the rhyme scheme of a zajal to allow for more stream-of-consciousness than normally implied in a rigid repeated foot of English forms. Finally, I included a "turn" in the form of a list of rhetorical questions that also returns to a more regular stress-count in order to emphasize the shift in focus.
Flowers, peerless by compare,
Are deeds of Nyvein, like fair
Gems coating the diadem:
The Gloriosa lily,
Red as pomegranate wine,
Flashes splendor, a cut ruby;
Her words are as divine
As these, a fire in the air
By passion lit to lay bare
The unrighteous, and condemn.
Beloved Daphne, winter
Bloom, subtly swirls pink and white,
Aroma sweet as packed myrrh;
Nyvein’s service is such light,
An uplifting warmth of care.
Should darkness or cold ensnare,
Her sunrise arrives to stem it.
Lilies of the Nile, sapphires
Which spark in all direction,
Like when lightning strikes the spire
Signalling inspiration --
These too Nyvein shall wear
In her wreath, for everywhere
She heartens others, stirs them.
Can sunlight hide from the eye?
Can choice perfume be concealed?
Can blossoms choose to be shy,
And bury their color in the field?
Neither can Nyvein, daughter
Of Rav Adam, suppress her Nature.
She gives, and moves, ignites and blooms,
And thus she new glory assumes;
For Anton, Luned both concur:
The Golden Dolphin shines in her.
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