Jonah

I will not stay here anymore
I will leave this very evening
I leave behind my family
But I may see them again
What weighs heavy on my mind now is peace
I seek it like a tired bird seeking needful rest
I will leave all that I have ever known to find that precious nest
I leave this evening
No qualms detain me
Nor ever will!
I cannot hide no longer
I must escape
Those words echo again:
'Go to the great city of Nineveh,
And preach against it.'
I shut my eyes and hide from the world
Now
This night
This night,
I tell myself.
Patience
                                                                     *
The stars are fearful this evening
They glare at me;
The darkening sky warns me

I look back at my homeland, Israel
All that I had ever known
The paradise where I spent my happy childhood
But now that I have fallen,
I have decided it,
And I can remain here no longer

Night falls like a hawk
The dawn will find me far away

I, Jonah, son of Ammitai,
Leave my nation this night
It is from God that I run away
I am afraid.
Help me, Israel, my homeland, and be always my mother
For now I am all alone
No family to shelter me
No home to protect me
And I cannot say whether God will watch over me
For it is from God that I run away
And I am afraid

'Go to the great city of Nineveh,
And preach against it.'

I, Jonah, son of Ammitai,
Leave Israel tonight
I look back
I see the familiar paths,
That sleeping tree,
Those peaceful homes,
The safe neighborhood
My silent friends
I whisper painful farewells.
Forgive me, sweet night
Forgive me, gentle breeze
Forgive me, watchful stars
I cry.
I look at the loving homes,
The swaying trees,
And the sleeping city one last time
Tears flow down my cheeks,
Through my heart

Treading strange paths
Thorough an unknown world,
I reach Joppa in the dead of night
Here it is I was told I could board the ship
I will wait here

'Go to the great city of Nineveh,
And preach against it.'

The harbor is silent
It looks onto the gentle waters, watching for the next ship
I watch with it
I seat myself on a broken plank of wood,
My feet touching the grains of sand.
I take a handful in my hand
And watch them falling down,
One by one
There are many grains of sand
So many
But they do not seem hopeful this night.

They promise me nothing

Tears flow down my cheeks and through my heart
My empty heart
I rest my head on my arm, crying

A cold wind blows, bringing to me the salt of the sea
The waters are peaceful this night
As if they are reminding me of the evasive peace that I seek

Will God forgive me

I pull my cloak around myself
It is cold and I am tired of waiting
Perhaps I should go back
Perhaps I can leave another day
No one would have noticed my absence

But look!
The ship arrives.
It is there, to the east
A mere shadow in the moonlit night
Still noiseless
It is time
They have come
It is time to go to the far west,
To Tarshish,
Where I will find rest
It is time.