"The Children of Israel Crossing the Red Sea" Frederic Schopin
_We part our ways
Like others part a sea;
_You, Egypt, stay,
While I, a Hebrew, flee.
_We must decide
What each of us will take:
_I keep my tribes,
You choose to keep your plagues.
_I bid shalom
To you, my not-so-dear,
_And look for home
Another forty years.
Iryna Hall immigrated from Ukraine in 1997 and is now married and living in Utah.
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Iryna,
I like this poem, and I hope you have a better life than before the parting of the ways. It’s not easy, but sometimes it is necessary. All my best, Nan
Iryna, I really enjoyed reading your well-designed poem, As one who spent more than seven years in Russia and visited the Ukraine on more than one occasion, let me say that you exhibit a special linguistic mastery of English poetry. I also like the transliteration of your name with a “y” in the middle. Usually it is another “i.”
This poem does double-duty. It could be read as a statement about an actual divorce of two persons, using the imagery of the exodus account as a metaphorical structure on which to build the statement. If such is the case, the husband is “Egypt,” the wife is a “Hebrew,” the wife’s possessions are her ‘tribes,” while those of the husband are his “plagues.”
On the other hand, the poem might be read as a straightforward brief summary of the biblical tale about the separation of two peoples, with no reference to an actual divorce of a wife and a husband.
Making a poem “twink” in this manner is difficult to achieve. That is why such poems are usually short.
This poem is the very model of compactness, with no words wasted, and none left out — exactly what one would expect from Utah. Strange it is that this comes not from Mormon country, but from Ukrainia, in essence, from someone now divorced from the Russian plague. For some reason, or due to some cause, words written in English by persons who grew up immersed in another language seem to write most clearly. Two of the best examples are Joseph Conrad and Karl Popper.
This is such a pithy take on the Exodus as well as the topic of divorce, I love it. I really like how the dry humor makes for a short work, dispensing with lengthy descriptions. Just the facts ma’am. Great job!
The beauty lies in the brevity of this superb poem… a poem that invites this reader back to revel in its cleverness. Thank you, Iryna!
Enjoyed your poem, Iryna, especially the line
“To you, my not-so-dear”. So much said in so few words.
I agree with Joseph — I think it shows a lot of talent that you’ve been able to use the word “divorce” to portray a situation from history, and at the same time leave open the possibility that it also refers to an actual current situation. And you’ve done it so concisely that it leaves a lasting impression.
I enjoyed the biblical analogy. By ‘tribes’ and ‘plagues’, I get that the narrator’s keeping the kids, while the spouse keeps the property, complete with faulty plumbing, leaky roof, etc.
Short and poignant – thanks for the read, Iryna.
Great poem. It is so difficult to approach a subject suffused with religious meaning with humor and sensitivity.