Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Hannah Senesh’s Poetry
1940s
Hannah Senesh’s poems became Israeli cultural treasures. They evoked images of the beauty of the land as she encountered it, and of the hardships and courage that drove her rescue mission during World War Two. Her short poem “Walk to Caesarea” was turned into Israel’s most famous folk song, “Eili Eili.”
Blessed Is the Match
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame
Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart
Blessed is the heart with strength to stop its beating for honor’s sake
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame
Walk to Caesarea
God — may there be no end
to sea, to sand,
water’s splash,
lightning’s flash
the prayer of man
At the Crossroads
A voice called. I went.
I went, for it called.
I went, lest I fall.
At the crossroads
I blocked both ears with white frost
And cried
For what I had lost.
