Jordan Shore
Lior Maayan
Translated from the Hebrew by the author
“All you have to do is suffer the metaphysical pain of dying”
—Galilee Shore, Allen Ginsberg
Naked trees on a thin stretch of water
A stream is also a division of a land
but there is a feeling that one can pass
to the other side,
on the other side.
Here in the meantime, trees
and the eye that got trained by the city is open
beyond shallow water and up to the mountain.
There are no straight lines in this scene
only spots of brown and green.
And all these things laid before me as they’ve already been
A stream, green meadow, reed, marble stone.
Wind began grazing my neck,
such a different tone, yet so familiar.
Silence out of all voice
As morning’s soft light starts to rise, it’s so cold.
All of a sudden, there is no need to imagine a man with a horse.
חוף ירדן
עֵצִים עֲרֻמִּים עַל רְצוּעַת מַיִם דְּקִיקָה
גַּם נַחַל הוּא חֲלוּקָה שֶׁל נוֹף
אֲבָל יֵשׁ תְּחוּשָׁה שֶׁאֶפְשָׁר לַעֲבֹר
,אֶל הַצַּד הַשֵּׁנִי
.אֶל הַצַּד הַשֵּׁנִי
כָּאן בֵּינְתַיִם, עֵצִים
וְהָעַיִן שֶׁהִתְרַגְּלָה אֶל הָעִיר נִפְקַחַת
אֶל מֵעֵבֶר לַמַּיִם וְעַד לְהָרִים
וְאֵין בְּכָל הַמַּרְאֶה שֶׁמִּמּוּל קַוִּים יְשָׁרִים
רַק כְּתָמִים יְרֻקִּים וְחוּמִים
הַדְּבָרִים מֻנָּחִים לְפָנַי כְּאִלּוּ מִזְּמָן
.נַחַל, כַּר דֶּשֶׁא, אֶבֶן שַׁיִשׁ, סוּף
וְרוּחַ הֵחֵלָּה לְלַחֵךְ בַּצַּוָּאר
מַגָּע כָּל כָּךְ שׁוֹנֶה וּבְכָל זֹאת מֻכָּר
דְּמָמָה בֵּין קוֹלוֹת
.וְאוֹר רַךְ שֶׁל בֹּקֶר שֶׁמַּתְחִיל לַעֲלוֹת וְקַר. פִּתְאוֹם לֹא צָרִיךְ לְדַמְיֵן אִישׁ עִם סוּס
Lior Maayan was born in Tel-Aviv. A tech executive, studied Physics, Math and Philosophy. Helicon & Poetry-Place Arabic-Hebrew member & 2023-24 ALMA-Metanel Fellow. Weizmann Institute & Clil EcoPoetics Laureate, National Lottery grant recipient, 2025 Yetzirah cohort member. Published in Granta, Asymptote, JBC, ARC, Yediot, IHRAM, Ho!. His book That Green (Shira Stav editor, Afik 2019) was shortlisted on Haaretz. What is Now (2023) won the Clil & Rabinovich grant.
Table of Contents for Flaw and Favor