Quiet In The Village

And in spite of everything
it is quiet in the village
on the crossroads between the upper Galilee
and the lower.
I and my five sons wonder
one about all and all
about one.
My Carmelite wife
counts six and is not certain
whom she forgot.
And in spite of everything
me and my wife
and my five sons
and silence. And slumber
does not fall
on me.

Translation by Karen Alkalay-Gut

Previously published in the Jerusalem Review